Action call: Barber

Unions have called for urgent action to help people with disabilities who want to work.

The TUC launched a campaign on Wednesday urging the government to bring in a new law providing equal rights for disabled people.

Unions say current laws designed to protect people with disabilities have so many loopholes and weaknesses that ministers should consider new legislation.Ministers have pledged to introduce a new Bill and the TUC has urged the government to step up the process of consulting on new laws so legislation can be put in place as early as next year.

Unions want to see the legal definition of disability widened from physical disabilities to include people with mental health problems who are open to discrimination because they are not covered by the current laws.

Union leaders also called for an end to the exemption covering firms that employ less than 15 people and particular jobs deemed unsuitable for disabled people.

Brendan Barber of the TUC said progress was too slow and demanded action.

"The number and proportion of disabled people in work is slowly increasing but there are still over one million unemployed disabled people who want to work," he said.

"The discrimination that pushes disabled unemployment rate up to double that of non-disabled must be made illegal as quickly as possible."