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Our Activities :
Country Activities :Our Activities in Specific CountriesAfter over two decades of conflict and coercive regimes, Afghanistan is seeking to provide poverty alleviation and develop the livelihoods of its people, including persons with disabilities, through a strategy of moving towards democracy and a free economy. The ILO, through a joint effort with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, has sought to raise the profile of disability in country by assigning an international disability advisor to the work in the country from late 2004 through 2005 in the areas of vocational training and employment. A large proportion of the population of Afghanistan has disabilities resulting from the effects of war as well as from poor health conditions and problems at birth. According to the preliminary findings from the National Disability Survey in Afghanistan (NDSA) 3.8% of the Afghan population appears to have at least one form of disability. The rate of disability for Afghan men (4.21%) is reported to be higher than that for Afghan women (3.29%). The figures from the preliminary findings of the National Disability Survey in Afghanistan are lower than the estimates for the prevalence of disability according to the World Health Organization; which suggests that approximately ten percent of any countries’ population is disabled. For Afghanistan, this would imply that there are approximately 2 million persons with disabilities. Additionally, findings from the NDSA suggest that the majority of persons with disabilities in Afghanistan are over 15 years of age and have fewer educational and vocational opportunities than that of the non-disabled counterparts. The ILO established a Technical Resource Unit on Disability for Vocational Training and Employment within the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA) with the intended purpose of developing the institutional capacity of the Ministry to provide comprehensive vocational training and employment related services to persons with disabilities. Recognized nationally by Government, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations, the Technical Resource Unit on Disability, supported by ILO’s expertise, possesses the strongest knowledge base on vocational training, employment and disability in the country. The ILO’s disability advisor designed an inclusive vocational training and employment model for persons with differing disabilities that was being implemented by the UNDP National Programme for Action on Disability (NPAD) with ILO technical assistance. The objective of this model is to develop the capacity of mainstream vocational skills training, business development services (BDS) and micro-finance institutions to provide services to persons with disabilities; thus, increasing significantly the number of persons with disabilities who will, ultimately, obtain gainful employment in either the formal or informal sector. The ILO disability advisor organized staff development training workshops for MoLSA Employment Service Centre staff, vocational instructors from Government, private organizations and non-governmental organizations, staff of mainstream business development service providers and from mainstream micro-finance institutions. Additionally, training on disability-related international conventions, recommendations, principles and standards, including those of ILO, has been provided by the ILO disability advisor to the staff of MoLSA and the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled (MMD). The ILO’s overall presence in Afghanistan includes the National Emergency Employment Programme to rebuild infrastructure through the use of labour intensive methods that target vulnerable populations, including disabled persons; the Employment Services Centre Project that is establishing nine centres around the country, inclusive of disabled persons; and special advisors in microfinance, business development services and labour administration. Through the actions of these projects and advisors the ILO plans to continue the approach facilitated by the disability advisor and accepted by Government that is an inclusive approach to service provision for persons with disabilities in Afghanistan. The disability advisor post resulted from the report and recommendations of a consultant the ILO sent a consultant to Kabul in late November to early December 2003. As a developed country, the ILO does not provide direct technical assistance in Australia. However, the ILO’s linkage with Australia on the issue of disability is strong. Australian approaches, such as the Bridging Pathways initiative to integrate the Training and Further Education systems was highlighted as part of the Expert Group Meeting on Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Vocational Training. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has assisted the ILO in finding technical expertise when needed. For example, a representative of the Liquor Hospitality & Miscellaneous Union (LHMU) provided technical inputs into the meeting on Decent Work and People with Disabilities sponsored by the All China Federation of Trade Unions in 2005. The LHMU has experience organizing workers with disabilities in sheltered workshops and has helped them get higher wages, among its other activities to promote decent work for disabled persons. Australia was one of the countries in the ILO’s 14-country research project and it participated in the ILO/Japan Technical Consultation on Vocational Training and Employment of People with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, 14-15 January 2003, Bangkok. LINK Representatives of employers’, trade unions’ and disabled persons’ organizations attended the meeting. As a result, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was so impressed with some of the employer organization initiatives in developing countries that it launched a major policy statement on disability that was approved and disseminated in November 2003. As part of its regional research project, the ILO identified several examples of good practices in Australia. Moving Forward: Toward Decent Work for People with Disabilities---Examples of Good Practices from Asia and the Pacific Region includes two of these examples. One addresses Australia’s efforts to increase participation of people with disabilities in its vocational training programmes---the Bridging Pathways initiative, and the other a computer training programme. For more information about employment and training in Australia, consult the following:
Because of years of armed conflict and the resulting increase in people with disabilities, Cambodia is one of the AbilityAP’s target countries in the region. The ILO has undertaken several activities and projects related to disability in Cambodia and many of the ILO non-disability projects are inclusive of disabled persons as well. Alleviating
Poverty through Peer Training Project For example, in Siem Reap former beggars are now book vendors and a self-help group of disabled people weave baskets for export. In Pursat, rice farmers with disabilities supplement their incomes with activities such as broom making, pig-raising and incense stick production. Other people with disabilities have started businesses after learning more complex skills such as motorbike repair, cement jar making and soymilk production. Initially, people with disabilities learned from their nondisabled peers but now a group of disabled trainer/entrepreneurs are also available to help others. With the new funding from the AGFund, the ILO is adding a component to emphasis the special needs of women and families with a disabled member. Thanks to the extra resources, the project is able to train more women, extend the project to another province, provide staff training on gender issues and conduct other activities to provide better services for women affected by disability and to ensure that children with disabilities attend school. For more information about the APPT project, consult the following:
Disability
Resource Team As the project gained success, the number of people on waiting lists for entry into training programmes became quite long. The DRT project introduced the SCR component so people could learn skills in classrooms “without walls”, which led to the APPT project described above. Many aspects of the DRT project have continued relevance for Cambodia and other countries, since it was an early effort to foster the integration of disabled persons in mainstream training. For more information about the DRT project, consult the following: Artisans’
Association of Cambodia More recently, the ILO provided direct financial and technical assistance to help the AAC grow, through its Informal Economy, Poverty and Employment project, simply referred to as the IE project. The activities involved funding a study on business registration, strengthening the organizations representation and participatory governance, initiating a 15-month intervention to improve marketing, design and training approaches and supporting trade fairs and knowledge-sharing activities. To learn more about the ACC project consult the following: Business Advisory
Council
While the ILO’s support was mostly technical, it did provide financial resources to co-sponsor an employer awareness and awards seminar in May, 2002 that was presided over by His Excellency, the Prime Minister. It also funded the participation of a BAC contingent at ESCAP’s High-Level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude the Asia and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993 to 2002. The WRF country representative, a BAC member from Mobitel and the ILO’s Senior Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation made a presentation describing employer partnerships. Recently, ILO technical assistance has been requested to upgrade the BAC functioning and activities. For more information about the Business Advisory Council, consult the following:
Support to MoSVY
and other activities in Cambodia For example, as part of its past and current projects, the ILO provided training in success case replication, disability awareness, small business development, mainstreaming people with disabilities, gender awareness and a variety of other topics to Government and NGO participants at national and provincial levels. The ILO worked with other agencies to produce a disability awareness training kit that is used throughout the country and has translated many training and employment materials into the Khmer language. Most recently, it is translating the Achieving Equal Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities through Legislation: Guidelines into Khmer. The ILO works with MoSVY and local NGOs to upgrade staff capacity in other ways, For example, a representative from Cambodia was sponsored to participate in the ILO/ESCAP Multinational Roundtable on Disability and Employment. The ILO also sponsored a Cambodian national to attend an international training course in vocational rehabilitation and for two years has provided resources to the Rehabilitation Department of the MoSVY to train provincial social workers on disability rights and related issues. Cambodia was one of the countries featured in the ILO’s video production, AbilityAsia and was one of the 14 countries in the ILO research project (see Regional Activities under Our Activities). For more information about training and employment for people with disabilities in Cambodia, consult the following:
The ILO has worked closely with China for many years on issues related to the employment and training of people with disabilities and on policy and rights issues. This has included working actively with the ILO’s social partners, the Ministry of Labour and the China Disabled Persons Federation (CDPF), the China Employers Confederation (CEC) and the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). China was one of five countries that participated in the ILO/Korea Fellowship programme in 2005, is currently involved in the PEPDEL project (see below) and been actively engaged with the ILO in promoting employment through employers awareness seminars and advanced employer development techniques. PEPDEL project Currently, China is a participant in the inter-regional project Promoting the Employability and Employment of People with Disabilities through Effective Legislation (PEPDEL). Through this project, the ILO provides technical assistance to stakeholders in China to enhance their capacity to promote disabled job seekers’ access to equal job and training opportunities through effective national laws and policies. It also seeks to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities alongside the social partners – employers’ and workers’ organization - in policy-making processes. A National Project Advisory Group is chaired by the CDPF with representatives for the Government, employers’ and workers’ organizations. The group has developed a joint project action plan for 2006-2007, which includes a labour market survey among people with mental illnesses and those with intellectual disability and the compilation of case studies of employers who successfully hire people with disabilities in China. The document, Achieving Equal Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities through Effective Legislation Guidelines, has been translated into Chinese already. Technical assistance, workshops and seminars For several years, the ILO regional disability programme has provided technical assistance to the China Disabled Persons Federation (CDPF) to build capacity among its staff on issues related to vocational assessment, employment services, advanced employer development techniques and international vocational rehabilitation standards. This year, a senior ILO specialist will serve as a resource person for the China Association of the Deaf three-day, national seminar to promote employment opportunities among China’s estimated 20 million Deaf persons. In November 2005, the ILO sponsored a major disability awareness programme in collaboration with the ACFTU, Decent Work and People with Disabilities: The Role of Trade Unions. Present were representatives from major unions in the country as well as ACFTU leaders, three ILO senior specialists and an international resource person, from the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union. Union personnel developed action plans to move the disability issue forward within their respective organizations and had a high praise for the training. In 2004, a similar awareness activity was co-sponsored with the CEC for employers, entitled Unlocking Potential: The Business Case for Hiring People with Disabilities. The booklet Unlocking Potential: The New Disability Business Case was translated and distributed to CEC members as part of this awareness initiative. Advanced employer development training In 2005, the ILO entered into a cooperative training activity with the China Disabled Persons Federation, the Shanghai Disabled Persons Federation and Huangzhou Disabled Persons Federation. The activity involved the participation of a delegation from China to the ILO/ESCAP Multinational Corporation Roundtable on Disability and Employment and two training programmes. The lead participating CDPF branch, the Shanghai Disabled Persons Federation agreed to replicate the Roundtable as part of the activity. From 25-29 July, two international trainers and two resource people, one from the ILO and one from the Hong Kong Department of Labour, provided training to about 40 CDPF staff members on Employer Development Techniques for the Job Placement of People with Disabilities. The training integrated many ILO tools and techniques that have already been translated into Chinese and built on lessons learned from the Roundtable. The training culminated in action plans by all of the four provincial offices represented at the meeting. A follow-up meeting to review progress and plans was held in Hangzhou, hosted by the Hangzhou Disabled Persons Federation. As a result of the training, Shanghai held a highly successful Employers” Roundtable in which Novotel, Wal-Mart, Marriott, Carrefour, Alicahan, Wanglei Image Commune, Papa John’s, HSBC, Starbuck’s, Shanghai Jielong Photograph and many other local companies were present. SDPF plans to sponsor an additional 15 Roundtable meetings. Additionally, the Shanghai CDPF produced a video of employers and disabled workers as an awareness tool. Other offices also made progress in their action plans but the Shanghai experience was the most exemplary. Other activities Additionally, the ILO has translated many technical publications into Chinese as part of this capacity building effort, especially those to do with employment services for disabled persons and job search skills for disabled job-seekers. This includes the translation of the ILO video AbilityAsia, which is designed to foster positive attitudes about hiring people with disabilities. China participated in the ILO’s 14-country study and the ILO Regional Technical Consultation on Vocational Training and Employment of People with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific Region, to which it sent a full and active delegation. A good practice from China is also included in Moving Forward: Toward Decent Work for People with Disabilities. For more information about training and employment of people with disabilities, consult the following:
Also refer to the separate section on Hong Kong, SAR. In East Timor, the ILO sent a consultant in December 2001 to assess the country’s needs related to developing policies and practices that would encourage the inclusion and equal treatment and opportunity for people with disabilities in society, the economy and the workplace. At the recommendation of the first consultant, a second consultant was sent to East Timor to specifically address legislative and policy needs. Funded through the Development Corporation of Ireland project Employment of People with Disabilities---The Impact of Legislation, the consultant recommended that, among other things, the country develop a disability council representative of key stakeholders that is mandated to develop and make policy recommendations to the Government. Fiji and the Pacific Island Countries The ILO is currently working to mainstream people with disabilities in its social protection, labour, training and employment projects in the Pacific Island countries. For example, the Walking Out of Poverty Programme in Fiji has set aside ten percent of its training slots for disabled persons and has made separate funding allocations to upgrade the training for disabled persons at the Government-operated Brown Street facility. In August 2005, the ILO co-sponsored a meeting of Pacific Island countries organized by the Pacific Forum and UN ESCAP, entitled the Pacific Regional Workshop on Disability. The ILO conducted one-day of activities during the four-day, policy-focused meeting. Read the full programme of activities and outcomes statement to learn more. The ILO Senior Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation conducted technical assistance missions to Fiji in August 2005 and April 2002, the latter at the request of the Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Women, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation. During both missions the ILO provided policy advice on the mainstreaming of people with disabilities, the drafting of industrial relations legislation and the inclusion of provisions related to disabled persons and methods of including disabled persons in policies and strategic planning documents. Assistance was also provided regarding project formulation and vocational training at mainstream and disability-specific institutions. Disability issues were raised with the Fiji Employers Federation (who has hired a blind receptionist and is supportive of employment initiatives for disabled persons), the Fiji Trade Union Congress, the Fiji National Council of Disabled Persons (FNCDP) and the Fiji Disabled Persons’ Association. The missions resulted in recommendations for new vocational rehabilitation projects, guidance for improving the functioning of the FNCDP and suggested strategies for the integration of people with disabilities in Department of Social Welfare and other Government training, employment, business development and income generation projects. Fiji was included in ILO’s 14-country study and a good practice from Fiji, related to fostering the inclusion of blind and visually impaired persons in education and training, is featured in the publication Moving Forward. A tripartite Fijian contingent attended the ILO/Japan Technical Consultation on Vocational Training and Employment of People with Disabilities held in Bangkok in January 2003. For more information about training and employment in Fiji, consult the following:
The ILO and the Government of Hong Kong, SAR, as well as several of its NGOs, have worked in close collaboration to share good practices throughout the region. Hong Kong professionals have served as resource people for work in other countries, especially on Mainland China. For example, a representative of the Department of Labour’s Special Placement Service was a resource person for the training programme, Employer Development Techniques for the Job Placement of People with Disabilities that was organized in collaboration with CDPF in Shanghai in 2005. As far back as 2001, a representative of the Vocational Training Council provided a training programme in vocational assessment in Beijing. The collaboration goes both ways. In 2006, the ILO’s Senior Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation was the keynote speaker at two separate seminars in Hong Kong SAR. The first, on the 25 July 2006, called “Untapped Potential: Corporation and NGO Partnership Forum on Disability and Employment”, was attended by about 200 people, including many human resource professionals, employers and high-level government officials. The second event, on the following day, was the “Workshop on Employment Initiatives and Social Enterprises for People with Disabilities”, which was directed mainly to NGO staff. The first event was the official launch for the Chinese version of a casebook featuring the social enterprises that have been developed by Hong Kong NGOs, with seed money by the Department of Social Welfare. It also was designed to engage more employers in the process of training and employing disabled persons. The keynote address in the Untapped Potential workshop was directed to the employers in the audience and covered the reasons employer hire disabled persons, and culminated in the business case for hiring disabled persons. The keynote address for the second workshop highlighted types and methods of partnering with employers and other partners and included examples of partnerships from around the region that relate to employment and training. Hong Kong partnerships and good practice examples are highlighted in many ILO publications and presentations. For example, the JW Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong and the Hong Chi Association presented its training partnership for people with intellectual disabilities at the ILO/ESCAP Multinational Corporation Roundtable on Disability and Employment in July, 2005 and Hong SAR participated in the production of the ILO video AbilityAsia to encourage employers to hire people with disabilities. Several Hong Kong businesses were represented as was the New Life Psychiatric Centre, which provides vocational training, supported employment and employment services to people with psychiatric disabilities. Although quite advanced in its practices, Hong Kong has also benefited from its collaboration with the ILO. The ILO has worked with Hong Kong to encourage greater employer participation its training and employment efforts and to further inclusion of disabled persons in its vocational training programmes. Hong Kong participated in the ILO’s 14-country study, sent a delegation to the ILO/Japan Regional Technical Consultation on Vocational Training and Employment of People with Disabilities and several of its good practices are featured in Moving Forward. Hong Kong has also participated in several ILO regional meetings and activities related to disabled persons. To learn more about employment and training in Hong Kong, SAR, consult the following:
While the AbilityAP programme is not formally linked to activities in India, the ILO subregional office in New Delhi has provided technical resource staff for many events related to disability and employment issues in the country. India has also sent representatives to ILO regional meetings, such as the ILO Expert Group Meeting on Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Vocational Training and the ILO/ESCAP Multinational Corporation Roundtable on Disability and Employment. The ILO collaborated with Worth Trust (see below) and Workability International to offer the Worth Trust/Workability “Capacity Building Training Programme” for operators of production workshops for people with disabilities in Africa. The six-week programme included various classroom, interactive, problem solving and field trip activities to teach African counterparts about the business approach to marketing and operating a successful production workshop. In November, 2003, the ILO provided funds for Hind Mazdoor Sabha, a workers’ organization, to hold a two-day Special Tripartite Meeting on Training and Employment Policies and Practices for People with Disabilities in India. The meeting was a follow-up to the ILO/Japan Technical Consultation on Training and Employment of People with Disabilities in Bangkok, 14-16 January 2003. Further, the ILO commissioned a paper on the status of training and employment of people with disabilities in India and identified three examples of good practices for inclusion in Moving Forward: Toward Decent Work for People with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. For more information about vocational training and employment of people with disabilities in India, consult the following:
In March 2006, at the request of the Indonesian Government, the Ministry of Manpower, the Senior Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation undertook a week-long mission to Indonesia to provide technical advice about how to meet the training and employment provisions of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action: towards and Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities and to improve the employment situation for disabled persons in the country. Meetings were held with the Ministry of Social Affairs, NGOs and the employers’ federation (APINDO), disabled persons’ organizations, and FSPSI Reformasi, the only trade union that has been involved in the disability issue. Meetings were also held to encourage the inclusion of disabled persons in tsunami related activities. While the employment outcomes for Indonesians with disabilities cannot be adequately determined because of lack of data and follow-up, Indonesia has several strengths. A legislative and policy framework exists, a plan to implement it has been developed, a coordinating body meets regularly and government ministries have a history of coordination and coordinating ministries to foster their interaction. ILO partners have been engaged in these efforts to some extent and there appears to be significant resources in the system. A disabled persons and advocacy movement is relatively well developed with a functional apex group. Indonesia has a history of using CBR approaches. Further, in the area of vocational training, institutional integration is beginning. The government appears to be taking the one percent hiring quota serious in its own hiring. However, data collection and follow-up make it difficult to assess the situation for people with disabilities beyond those formally enrolled in services. Having developed services when a centre-based, segregated approach was the norm, Indonesia has many such centres and programmes, but there is no centralized system for registering job seekers with disabilities. The decentralization of power has resulted in some centrally-administered facilities being underutilized. The Government is interested in developing its job placement services and to provide services for those who participate in the informal economy or who will become self-employed. APINDO also plans to undertake some activities related to disabled persons. Indonesia sent representatives to ILO regional meetings, such as the ILO Expert Group Meeting on Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Vocational Training and the ILO/ESCAP Multinational Corporation Roundtable on Disability and Employment. Indonesia participated in both the ILO 14-country country study project and the ILO Technical Consultation on Vocational Training and Employment of People with Disabilities, 14-16 January in Bangkok. A good practice from Indonesia is published in the ILO publication of good practices, Moving Forward. For information about employment and training in Indonesia, consult the following:
There have been no recent activities between the AbilityAP programme and Iran. However, the ILO invited a delegation from Iran to attend the ILO/Japan Technical Consultation on Vocational Training and Employment of People with Disabilities in January 2003. Four delegates were present and active in the meeting, held in Bangkok. As a participating country in the ILO research project, the ILO commissioned a paper on the status of employment and training in Iran. For information about the situation in Iran, please consult:
As a developed country that is a major donor in the region, the AbilityAP’s major involvement with Japan is through its role as a donor country and to seek out examples of good practice. Through the ILO/Japan Fund, two disability projects have been funded, one in Cambodia, simply referred to as the Disability Resource Team and the second was the ILO/Japan Technical Consultation on Vocational Training and Employment of People with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, 14-16 January 2003. Representatives of the Japanese Government and employers’, trade unions’ and disabled persons’ organizations attended the meeting. In November 2002, the Senior Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation was the keynote speaker at the then Japanese Association for the Employment of Disabled Persons (JAED) annual research meeting. She presented the preliminary findings of the ILO’s 14-Country Study on the Status of Training and Employment of People with Disabilities. As part of the research project, the ILO commissioned a paper on vocational rehabilitation in Japan and identified several examples of good practices from the country. Moving Forward: Toward Decent Work for People with Disabilities---Examples of Good Practices from Asia and the Pacific Region includes two of these examples. Both involve working with the social partners. To see these documents and learn more on vocational training and employment in Japan, consult the following:
Like Japan, Korea is a developed donor country in the region and disability is one of the target areas for the ILO/Korea Fellowship Programme, which is funded by the ILO/Korea Fund. With regard to disability issues the ILO collaborates with the Korean Employment Promotion Agency for the Disabled (KEPAD) In this calendar year, the programme will establish a sister-school relationship between a Korean and Thai training institution to facilitate the vocational training of people with severe disabilities. This will follow-up on the 2005 training programme, offered by “Skills Development Techniques and Employment Services for People with Severe Disabilities” that was offered to representatives from Thailand, Viet Nam, China and Mongolia. The second activity for 2006 will be a workshop in Seoul entitled “Practical Approaches to Involving Business in the Training and Employment of People with Disabilities---Examples from Korea.” It will build on the 2005 workshop “Tripartite Training on Employment Promotion Policy and Administration of an Employment Quota System and Fund for People with Disabilities”. In the latter workshop, KEPAD highlighted how it implements its quota system. However, since many companies chose to pay the levy instead of promoting the hiring of disabled workers, KEPAD has taken more positive and proactive measures, such as public relations campaigns, partnerships and designing customized training programmes for disabled persons. These practical, positive initiatives will be the focus on this years’ training fellowship programme. An excellent example of one such programme is the KEPAD/CJ Telenix programme to train physically disabled persons to work from their homes to fill orders from the CJ Telenix home shopping network. KEPAD recruits, screens and helps select trainees for the programme and provides pre-employment training. CJ Telenix provides additional training and home-based work stations. The disabled marketing consultants work from their homes, talk to customers, find out what they want to buy and process the paperwork. It is one example of the work that KEPAD is doing to engage businesses more fully in the training and employment of disabled persons. In October 2004, KEPAD sponsored and international symposium entitled Creation of a New Employment Strategy and a theme of Participation and Opportunity --- Who’s Responsibility? As a contribution to the meeting, the ILO served as a resource person and submitted the paper Toward Decent Work for People with Disabilities: ILO Perspectives on Employment and Skills Development, which was the basis for its presentation. The paper and presentation dealt with disability as a human rights issue, discussed globalization and its impact and the rise in corporate interest in disability in the workplace, as well as offering ILO standards as a foundation for developing policies. The symposium addressed the Government’s commitment to introduce antidiscrimination legislation in South Korea. It plans to maintain its quota system as well. A contingent from the Republic of Korea attended the ILO Technical Consultation in Bangkok and a consultant prepared a draft paper on the rehabilitation activities in the country (see regional meeting). The ILO also included one of the welfare enterprises, Eden House, as an example of good practice for inclusion in Moving Forward: Toward Decent Work for People with Disabilities. To learn more about Eden House and the man behind its development, Mr. Jung Duk-Whan, himself severely disabled, consult the following:
The ILO has been involved in encouraging the Laos Government to develop policies and legislation for people with disabilities for several years. Most recently, in December 2005, the ILO and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare jointly sponsored a meeting in Vientiane entitled Decent Work and People with Disabilities. This was follow-up to a 2004 study tour of a tripartite delegation, plus representatives of Laos Disabled Persons Association to Cambodia and Viet Nam to examine the policy framework and service delivery structure in those countries. Other activities in Laos have focused on the inclusion of people with disabilities in other ILO projects and activities in country. Decent Work and People with Disabilities: Workshop The objectives of the 2005 strategic planning workshop were as follows: · To promote decent work and a rights-based approach to training and employment for women and men with disabilities · To raise awareness about people with disabilities to ensure their training and employment needs are represented in the Master Socioeconomic Plan and related national development plans · To conduct a SWOT analysis and identify specific priorities for action related to employment and training of disabled persons for the next two to four years that will guide the country and ILO interventions. The meeting was attended by a delegation from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare including several representatives from the provinces, one representative each from the employers’ and workers’ organization, and several representatives from LDPA and selected NGOs. A representative of Viet Nam’s National Coordinating Council on Disabled Persons served as a resource person, along with two ILO officials. The programme involved presentations on regional and international perspectives, the situation of people with disabilities in Laos, panel presentations and a review of the situation in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. It also included active working groups using a strategic planning framework or SWOT analysis. The workshop resulted in 8 recommendations or priorities to guide future ILO activities in country and as a foundation for Government initiatives and the inclusion of disability issues in socioeconomic and social service/labour plans. The workshop was the first tripartite workshop on disability ever held in Lao and the first time many of the participants had been involved in strategic planning. Study tour to Cambodia and Viet Nam From November 29 to December 10, 2004 a tripartite-plus delegation from Laos participated in a study tour in Cambodia and Viet Nam. The study tour had the following objectives:
The delegation learned from the Business Advisory Council in Cambodia, a group of volunteer employers who promote the training and hiring of disabled workers, from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, which includes disabled persons in its vocational training programmes, from Viet Nam’s employment service centres that include disabled persons and from programmes such as the ILO’s Alleviating Poverty through Peer Training, as well as from presentations and field visits related to policy development and its implementation. These are just a few of the many organizations, agencies and social partners who contributed to study tour. The delegates from each sector completed evaluations, action plans and reports which were presented at the December 2005 workshop in Vientiane, described above. Other activities The ILO, through in-country missions, provides technical assistance and guidance to the Government, disability-related NGOs and its social partners. It also includes people with disabilities in some of its other projects and activities in Laos. For example, at the end of 2001 the ILO included people with disabilities as a key target group in a study to examine the development of small and medium sized enterprises in the country. The study was published in 2002. A follow-up meeting on small and medium enterprise development in 2003 included representatives of disabled peoples' organizations and government officials responsible for disability issues. The meeting effectively mainstreamed the needs of people with disabilities as part of the programme. It led to the ILO’s Integrated Small Enterprise Development project and the inclusion of several LDPA members in ILO entrepreneurship training workshops. Additionally, disability issues are addressed in the ILO’s Social Security project as well. For more information about training and employment of people with disabilities in Laos, consult the following:
The ILO has been active in Mongolia for several years with regard to disability issues. Some of the more recent activities are described below. Working with the social partners After the government included disability provisions and a quota system in its labour law, the ILO sponsored tripartite meetings with both the Mongolian Employers Federation, (MONEF) in 2000 and the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions (CMTU) in 2001 to discuss the implications of the ratification for its social partners. As a follow-up, the ILO worked closely MONEF in the sponsoring of two workshops. The first workshop, Building Capacity of Employer and Human Resource Managers to Address Disability in the Workplace, helped launch MONEF’s Disability Committee. It was held in November 2003. The meeting resulted in a strong set of recommendations for all the social partners and a course of action for MONEF’s Disability Committee. A second workshop at the provincial level resulted in the formation of a tripartite plus disabled persons committee in Hovd, to address the employment and training needs of disabled persons in this remote area of the country. Technical cooperation projects These activities are being followed up as part of Mongolia’s participation in two ILO projects. Mongolia was a targeted country in the ILO/Korea Fellowship programme, which addressed disability policy and vocational training issues. A delegation from Mongolia attended both of the fellowship training workshops held in Seoul during 2005. Mongolia is also participating in the inter-regional project Promoting the Employability and Employment of People with Disabilities through Effective Legislation (PEPDEL) project. Through this project, the ILO provides technical assistance to stakeholders to enhance their capacity to promote disabled job seekers’ access to equal job and training opportunities through effective national laws and policies. IA National Project Advisory Group is chaired by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour with representatives for the employers’ and workers’ organizations and disabled persons’ organizations. The group is currently finalising a joint project action plan for 2006-2007 to be carried out with support from the project. Technical assistance During 2002 and 2003, the ILO provided technical assistance to the Asian Development Bank funded project, Expanding Employment Opportunities for Poor Disabled Persons. The project has been engaged in a variety of activities in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour. It has translated many ILO materials to support the work of the employment services office, as well. The PEPDEL and ADB’s social protection project will continue to collaborate to address the needs of disabled persons. In 2003, Mongolia’s delegation to the ILO Technical Consultation on Vocational Training and Employment of People with Disabilities included government, trade union and employer representation. The Mongolian team developed furthered interest in disability issues and collaborated on a strong action plan. It included the translation of the ILO video AbilityAsia into the Mongolian language as well as the ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace. The Government’s employment services office worked actively with the Asian Development Bank Project to train and place people with disabilities in formal sector and self-employment positions. To learn more about one of the Mongolia’s NGOs that provides an excellent example of mainstreaming people with disabilities in vocational training, consult the following:
In 2002, the local ILO office translated the ILO Code of Practice for Managing Disability in the Workplace and launched the Code as part of the UN International Day of Disabled Persons. As a follow-up, the ILO regional office in collaboration with the ILO office in Nepal and the National Federation of Disabled---Nepal held a tripartite meeting on Decent Work and People with Disabilities. The meeting was well attended, led to the identification of exemplary employers who have hired disabled persons and resulted in a series of concrete recommendations for action, including the establishment of a disability commission to develop policy and oversee its implementation. Media attention was excellent and included television coverage, a press conference and several print stories to bring attention to the training and employment needs of disabled persons in Nepal. The ILO has not actively provided technical assistance in Singapore, however its Bizlink programme was included as an example of good practice in the ILO publication, Moving Forward. To learn about this project and some background information about the situation of policies related to disability in Singapore, consult the following:
Sri Lanka is moving forward in its efforts to address workplace rights and the services disabled persons need to exercise their rights, to decent work. The ILO has provided technical assistance to the various Government ministries, the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon and NGOs and co-sponsored meetings and activities to assist in this effort for more than a decade. Employers Network on Disability In 2000, the ILO sponsored a study tour for a delegation of employers to visit the Employers’ Forum on Disability in the United Kingdom (UK). In 2001, it provided funds and technical assistance to facilitate the development of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon’s (EFC) Employers' Network on Disability, modelled after the UK Forum. Since that time, the Network has grown and developed into a model initiative to address the training and employment needs of disabled persons and to counter discrimination and social exclusion. The employers, working with their partners, have been leaders in moving the disability issue forward in Sri Lanka and serving as a model not only regionally but globally. In July 2006, the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon launched its Code of Practice on Managing Disability Issues in the Workplace, to media attention and to a crowd of more than 200 employers, government officials, and NGO and disabled persons’ representatives. The programme included presentations by ILO officials, employers, advocates and disabled persons. The Code is the most recent in a series of activities that the EFC and its Employers’ Network on Disability have initiated. After forming, the Network began its activities by sponsoring two employer awareness seminars, surveying its members to determine their records of hiring disabled workers and starting a database on job-seekers with disabilities. Through its newsletter, the Network promotes examples of good practice among its members to encourage the hiring of workers with disabilities. As the Network continued to develop it took a more proactive stance in promoting the hiring of disabled workers. With ILO technical assistance and advice from employers, the Network linked with an NGO called Motivation Trust and with the Ministry of Social Welfare to screen job seekers and assist them in preparing for job interviews. It held another seminar for employers that included a job fair (see report) in the afternoon. Almost 25 of Colombo’s leading companies were present and more than half of the 75 job-seekers found employment at this first job fair. The Network and its partners, which now also include the Ministry of Labour, have organized more job fairs in Colombo, and with funding from the US Agency for International Development, are moving the job fairs into the provinces. The individual employers are not only hiring but providing training and other supports. For example, Sri Lanka Airlines developed a CD-ROM to teach employers participating in job fairs basic sign language so they can communicate with deaf job seekers. ID Lanka Limited has offered repeated English-language training courses for disabled job-seekers, especially those who want to enter IT and financial fields. A local private school is offering IT classes to disabled persons at no cost, on Saturdays, when there IT labs and teachers are free. The EFC formalized the Network with a Constitution in 2005 and its membership is growing, as are its partners. Recently, it is linking with other ILO projects to expand its reach. For example, through the ILO Factory Improvement Programme (FIP), it will train several factories using the new curricula developed in collaboration with AbilityAP, Disability in the Workplace. The ILO’s Accelerated Employment Services (ACS) project will solicit the input of the Network and its partners to launch a major media campaign to locate job-seekers with disabilities. The ACS project is helping to upgrade the JobsNet employment service centres and its computerized job matching programme to respond to needs of tsunami-affected communities. It also has a specific mandate to focus on improving services for disabled persons and plans to integrate disabled job seekers into its database. The Network, its partners, the ACS and FIP projects are forming an excellent collaboration that should result in real benefits for employers and disabled job-seekers. The initial work of the EFC and some of its exemplary employers are featured in the ILO video production, AbilityAsia. Network members have also presented at many forums around the region and at the World Bank in Washington, DC. Promoting the ratification of Convention 159 and other policy initiatives The Ministry of Labour is interested in ratifying ILO Convention 159. In February 2005, the ILO joined with the Ministry to sponsor the seminar Decent Work and People with Disabilities: Policies and Directions for Sri Lanka. Two ILO officials served as resource persons. The workshop provided an opportunity to consider the employment and training provisions of Sri Lanka’s disability policy and to review the draft Disability Act in light of ILO Convention 159. It also was a chance to review the Disability Policy for Sri Lanka and for stakeholders to debate the next steps related to policy implementation and ratification. The workshop resulted in several meeting recommendations, including some that have been realized just over a year later. For example, one recommendation called for the “the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon should develop/adopt a Code of Practice for managing disability in the workplace”, which has already be done. Others said the Government should upgrade vocational training and include disabled persons in employment related and other databases. As some of the other activities in this section will illustrate, progress has been made toward implementing these recommendations. The ILO has worked with the ministries involved in the vocational training of disabled and nondisabled persons to encourage the improvement of vocational training for disabled persons, and more specifically their inclusion in mainstream training. To assist in its efforts to move forward on the issue, the ILO prepared the paper, Integration Trainees with Disabilities into Skills Development Training Programmes: Sri Lanka---Taking First Steps. This paper is offered here since it has relevance for other countries taking immediate and long-range plans in this regard. More recently, the ILO has provided technical assistance to researchers gathering information about the current state of inclusion, as per one of the initial steps outlined in the paper. Additionally, the ILO has provided policy advice on the inclusion of disabled youth in Sri Lanka’s youth policy, provided training to Motivation Trust in job seeking skills training and engaged in many other technical assistance activities. Representatives from Sri Lanka participate in many regional initiatives and activities, such the ILO/ESCAP Multinational Corporation Roundtable, where the EFC, MAS Holdings and Motivation Trust made a joint presentation. The EFC also participated in the Expert Group Meeting on Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Vocational Training, the ILO Technical Consultation related to the PEPDEL project and the ILO/Japan Technical Consultation on Vocational Training and Employment. Sri Lanka was among the 14 countries that were the basis of the ILO country study project. As such, two examples of good practices were selected from Sri Lanka for publication in Moving Forward. To learn more about the status of training and employment of people with disabilities in Sri Lanka, consult the following:
With the regional ILO offices located in Bangkok, Thailand, the AbilityAP programme has been actively involved with the Government, social partners and disabled persons organizations in many activities related to equal employment and equal treatment of people with disabilities. May Day and union activities In May, 2006 the ILO joined Disabled People’s International (DPI) --- Asia Pacific and DPI Thailand and literally thousand of trade unionists in the annual International Labour Day (May Day) march through Bangkok. DPI members, representing many different disability groups, carried placards promoting ratification of ILO Convention 159, removal of discriminatory laws toward disabled persons and promotion of a safer workplace. Visit the Photo Gallery of this Web site to see photos of the annual event or read DPI’s May Day Report, 2006. This was the third year that the ILO sponsored the participation of disabled persons in the event. In addition, the ILO has worked through the Institute for Occupational Health, Safety and Environment to raise the awareness of trade unionists in Thailand about the needs of injured workers and disabled persons in their quest for equal rights and safer workplaces. Many of its training programmes include a disability awareness module, show ILO disability videos or include presentations by an ILO disability specialist. Tsunami project and disabled persons The ILO-executed project, Post Tsunami Livelihood Recovery in the Tourism Sector in Phuket and Phang Nga, was funded by UNDP as a response to the economic implications of the tsunami that affected Thailand in December 2005. Being already socially excluded and economically vulnerable, people with disabilities ere more adversely affected by the tsunami than others, as their situation was exacerbated by the disaster. The Disabled Peoples’ International Asia-Pacific Regional Office was among the project’s sub-grantees. DPI proposed a two-prong initiative: i) improving livelihoods for people with disabilities in Phang Nga tsunami affected areas through skills training and empowerment: and ii) improving business opportunities in the hospitality industry by introducing “barrier-free concepts” and promoting accessible tourism. The DPI initiative was a success. Many disabled people were trained in specific skills and entrepreneurship. One of the outcomes of the project is the establishment of the Phang Nga Society of Disabled Persons (PSDP) which was set up and registered as a provincial self-help organization for some 4,000 disabled persons living in eight districts of Phang Nga Province. With support from an NGO in Japan, the PSDP has provided 60 wheelchairs to people with disabilities. Another of DPI’s immediate impacts is that ten resorts have integrated ramps and other means of universal accessibility to their properties and the National Park in Khao Lak renovated its premises to increase accessibility after DPI’s visit. DPI now hopes to pursue this advocacy for universal access of parks at the national level. Additional information about the DPI component of the project can be found in the DPI section of the final project report. Participation in other ILO Projects Thailand is also participating in the inter-regional project Promoting the Employability and Employment of People with Disabilities through Effective Legislation (PEPDEL). A National Project Advisory Group is chaired by the Ministry of Labour with representatives for the employers’ and workers’ organizations and disabled persons’ organizations as well as the media and educational institutions. The group is charged with the task of developing a joint project action plan for 2006-2007 to be carried out with support from the project. Thailand was also a participant in the earlier component of the PEPDEL project entitled Employment of People with Disabilities---The Impact of Legislation. The project funded Thailand to translate relevant legislation from other countries to assist it in revising and drafting the employment promotion revisions of the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Act. The ILO is also provided a legal expert to review the final draft of its new legislation. Thailand also a participants in the ILO/Korea Fellowship Programme and attended both of its training programmes in Seoul in 2005. In 2006, the Phrapradaeng Vocational Training Centre, operated by the Department of Social Welfare in Thailand, will enter into a “sister-school” relationship with a similar training institution in Korea to upgrade its services and further collaborate with Korea and the ILO to serve individuals with the most severe disabilities. Work with ECOT, employers and NGOs The ILO has worked actively with local employers and the Employers Confederation of Thailand (ECOT), as well as local NGOs and the Government on projects and activities to promote the hiring of workers with disabilities. For example, in 2005, as a follow-up to the ILO/ESCAP Multinational Corporation Roundtable on Disability and Employment, the ILO provided resources to the Redemptorist Vocational School for the Disabled in Pattaya to work with the National Deaf Association and two NIKE sub-contractors. Redemptorist staff, working with the associated provided a one-day job-seeking skills training and subsequent work site visit and job matching services. As a result, 12 individuals were employed and an effective partnership was developed. In 2003, the ILO, ECOT and the Office of Empowerment of People with Disabilities collaborated to offer a training programme to employers on how to train people with disabilities on the job. As a result, several employers took advantage of a special training fund to train disabled workers. The project demonstrated the effectiveness of the approach and the Government now makes funds available to employers to train disabled persons on the job. These two examples are representative of many activities that result from the close proximity of the AbilityAP programme to Thais with disabilities. Other support to the Government The ILO has provided technical assistance to the Government’s Ministry of Labour and Human Security (and, prior to the Government’s reorganization, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare) regarding trends, issues, best practices and equal rights for people disabilities in employment and training. Special attention has been paid to mainstreaming in the areas of employment services, vocational training and providing improved services to persons with severe disabilities. As an example, in 2004, the ILO undertook and major technical cooperation activity to review vocational assessment initiative of the Office on the Empowerment of People with Disabilities. The ILO assessed its pilot programme, provided technical advice on how to improve it and offered an interactive training programme in Work Sample Development to assist the NGOs and training providers develop assessment tools specific to local and cultural needs. The relationship between the ILO and the Thai Government on vocational rehabilitation issues spans more than a decade and touches many issues and disability groups. As a contribution to the Kingdom's campaign to promote the employment of people with disabilities in 2002, the ILO produced a country-specific video, AbilityThailand to encourage positive attitudes among employers related to hiring and promoting workers with disabilities. The video is in the Thai language, however Thailand also collaborated on the English-language AbilityAsia video. As a result of producing the videos, the ILO identified many exemplary employers and established a closer link to the Employers’ Confederation of Thailand (ECOT). Thailand participated in the ILO’s 14-country study and in the ILO/Japan Technical Consultation on Vocational Training and Employment of People with Disabilities. As a result, the ILO developed a comprehensive paper on the status of training and employment for disabled persons in Thailand and identified three examples of good practice for dissemination. To learn more about training and employment of people with disabilities in Thailand, consult the following:
Along with China, Mongolia and Thailand, Viet Nam is also participating in the inter-regional project Promoting the Employability and Employment of People with Disabilities through Effective Legislation PEPDEL project. Through this project, the ILO provides technical assistance to stakeholders in Viet Nam to enhance their capacity to promote disabled job seekers’ access to equal job and training opportunities through effective national laws and policies. A National Project Advisory Group is chaired by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) with representatives for the employers’, workers’ and disabled persons’ organizations. The group is currently finalising a joint project action plan for 2006-2007 to be carried out with support from the project. Viet Nam also participated in the 2005 ILO/Korea Fellowship Programme and has participated in many ILO regional meetings, including the 2005 ILO/ESCAP Multinational Roundtable on Disability and Employment. Viet Nam’s National Coordinating Council on Disability (NCCD), in collaboration with the NGO, Viet Nam Assistance to the Handicapped, replicated the Roundtable in a meeting targeting employers in March 2006. The ILO senior specialist in vocational rehabilitation served as a resource person and delivered a presentation on what drives employers to hire disabled persons and provided other inputs and technical assistance with regard to organizing an employers’ group focused on training and employment of disabled persons. A follow-up meeting is planned for Ho Chi Minh City in the near future and Viet Nam hopes to organize a Blue Ribbon Panel of employers to permanently address the issue of employment and disability. Several of the national Roundtable companies have pledged their participation. The ILO has engaged in a variety of technical assistance activities in Viet Nam through regular missions to Viet Nam by the ILO senior specialist in vocational rehabilitation and through inclusion of Viet Nam social partners and disabled persons representatives in regional and national meetings. For example, in meetings with Government and National Assembly officials, the ILO provides policy advice with regard to making laws and policies more in line with ILO standards. The ILO has served as a resource person to several NGO/MOLISA sponsored meetings, including the 2004 MOLISA/USDOL/VNAH Conference on Employment for People with Disabilities. At this meeting, the ILO delivered a presentation on lessons learned from the 2003 14-coutnry study on employment and training policies and practices in the region that addressed the Vietnamese context. Viet Nam has reciprocated by receiving study tours from other countries on disability matters and sending resource people to meetings and events where Viet Nam can make a significant contribution. For example, see the Laos section in these Web pages. In addition, a representative from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour presented at the ILO Expert Group Meeting on Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Vocational Training and shared information about what the VGCL has done to include disabled persons in its training and employment activities. In 2003, Viet Nam participated in the ILO’s 14-country study that resulted in a print publication of the country study in both English and Vietnamese that has been widely disseminated. Prior to 2003, the ILO was involved in training staff from Viet Nam employment service centres in how to provide services to disabled job-seekers. Viet Nam participated in the ILO/Japan Technical Consultation of Vocational Training and Employment of People with Disabilities in Bangkok, January 2003. As a follow-up to the consultation, the ILO/Japan Fund provided technical assistance and resources to the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). In December 2003, VCCI held a well-attended conference designed to examine the issue of entrepreneurship and people with disabilities and to make recommendations for action among all the social partners to assist disabled persons establish their own businesses. More recently, the ILO has worked with VCCI and an international NGO called World Concern to provide technical assistance in the delivery of Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) training to people with disabilities in Viet Nam. In addition, many disability NGOs and members of the Viet Nam Association of Businesses, and Enterprises of Persons with Disabilities and NGOs of and for disabled persons have received SIYB and Get Ahead training through mainstream ILO projects in-county. For more information about the situation of training and employment of people with disabilities in Viet Nam, consult the following:
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Updated 2006-08-24 |
