Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2010, publiée 100ème session CIT (2011)

The Committee notes with interest the detailed information provided by the Government in October 2009 in reply to the 2004 direct request.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. National policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee notes that the Labour and Social Welfare Service Agency reports 82,600 persons with disabilities as of 2009, with 20.7 per cent of them employed. The Government informs that it has adopted the National Programme on Promotion of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 and has amended the Labour Law and the Law on Employment Promotion in 2007 and 2008, under the principles of Convention No. 159, UN Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities and the Biwako Millennium Framework. The amended Labour Law institutes a mandatory quota system for employers with 25 or more employees and imposes a fee when the statutory obligation is not met. The Government also reports on the changes in the Law on Employment Promotion, last amended in 2008, establishing a special account under the Employment Promotion Fund dedicated to employment promotion programmes for persons with disabilities, including training centres, sheltered workshops, vocational rehabilitation and wage subsidies for employing persons with disabilities. The Government also indicates that it has cooperated with the ILO Subregional Office for East Asia to develop ten small-scale advocacy projects promoting disability rights and has engaged with the representative organizations of employers, workers, and persons with disabilities in the process. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted to promote vocational rehabilitation and employment opportunities, as well as relevant statistics showing the impact of the National Programme on Promotion of Persons with Disabilities on increasing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Article 5. Consultation with social partners and representative organizations. The Government informs that there are over 40 national NGOs dealing with employment issues of persons with disabilities and that 29 of them actively cooperate with the Government’s central administrative organ in implementing disability-related policies. The Committee also notes that a council composed of 11 representatives from the Government, employers, trade unions and organizations representing persons with disabilities has been established following the ratification of the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities in May 2009, and that this council monitors and evaluates the implementation of legislation on employment and industrial relations of persons with disabilities. The Committee invites the Government to indicate in its next report examples of the new council’s activities in promoting social dialogue and implementing policies regarding matters covered by the Convention.

Article 7. Vocational rehabilitation and employment services. The Committee notes the reorganization and expansion of the National Rehabilitation Centre in 2006, which now consists of four main divisions: prosthetic workshop; orthopaedic workshop; vocational training unit; and clinical rehabilitation unit. The Government explains that the vocational training unit is composed of a training division and a professional counselling team and provides training to
120–200 persons with disabilities. The Government further communicates its intention to develop the centre into a model institution with local branches, offering comprehensive rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities. The Committee invites the Government to also indicate information on the progress made in developing local branches of the National Rehabilitation Centre.

Article 8. Access to services in rural areas and remote communities. The Committee notes that the Government allocates funding to 21 provinces and nine districts through the special account under the Employment Promotion Fund. The Government also relates that, in the first quarter of 2009, persons with disabilities in rural areas received financial support amounting to 17 per cent of the Government’s fully funded – as well as 28 per cent of partially funded – business projects for persons with disabilities. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report updated information on the availability of vocational rehabilitation and employment services in rural areas and remote communities.

Article 9. Training of suitably qualified staff. The Committee notes that the National Rehabilitation Centre currently employs 53 trained staff. It also notes that the Government is taking some measures to train specialized social workers to improve community and family-based services for persons with disabilities under the Comprehensive National Development Strategy of 2008. The Committee would appreciate receiving updated information on the measures adopted by the Government to improve the training and increase the availability of qualified staff responsible for vocational guidance, training, placement and employment of persons with disabilities.