Disability and the Asia-Pacific Decent
Work Agenda
Dr. Paul Comyn
Senior Specialist for Vocational Training & Skills Development
Decent Work Team for South Asia
ILO New Delhi
This Presentation will..
• Situate disability issues within the ILO Decent
Work Agenda
• Introduce the Global Business Disability Network
• Highlight Key Projects in the Region
• Summarise Key Resources and Contacts
What are the basic international
standards and issues?
All ILO Conventions cover people with disabilities, some are more
significant, e.g. ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation )
Convention (No. 111), 1958 now ratified by 169 countries.
Some address disability in particular, such as ILO Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention
(No.159), 1983, ratified by 82 states, the accompanying
Recommendation No. 168, and the voluntary ILO Code of Practice
for Managing Disability in the Workplace, 2002
The ILO supports the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (UNCRPD), ratified by 101 countries and signed by 149
People with Disabilities and Decent Work: Definitions, data and
barriers to employment
Decent Work Issues (1)
Exclusion from education
and training
Lower rates of labour
force participation
UNESCO estimates only 10 per
cent of children with disabilities
attend school in developing
countries (2006).
In Hungary, only 12.8 per cent
of disabled people are in the
workforce compared to 66.7 per
cent for nondisabled people
(Eurostat 2002).
In Korea, only 38.2 per cent of
disabled people are in the
workforce compared to 61.9 per
cent for nondisabled people
(Korea MOL 2007).
Less than 3 per cent of persons
with disabilities in Viet Nam have
received skills training (2006).
Decent Work Issues (2)
Lower wages
Informal economy and
poverty
In the US, persons with
disabilities on average make
$6,500 less annually than their
non- disabled counterparts
(Erikson et al. 2008)
More likely to be in jobs in the
informal economy which lack
protection and benefits
In Korea average annual
earning for disabled workers in
$18,888 compared to $28,800
for non-disabled persons (Korea
MOL 2007).
More likely to be poor: In
Bolivia,
66% of disabled persons are
below the poverty line (INE
Bolivia 2001)
But what is the business case for hiring?
Good, dependable, employees
Dupont Study (1958-1990)
Disabled workers performed
comparable to or better than
nondisabled peers with
regard to:
• Safety
• Attendance
• Job Performance
Better Job Retention
Tricon Restaurants
Australia
Marriott: Pathways to
Independence
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• 6% turnover rate compared to
52% for overall workforce
Hired 180 PWD over 2 years
Retention rates 4.5 % higher
100 % safety record
85 % rated as equal to or
better than other employees
Unlocking the Evidence, Employers’
Forum on Disability, 2001
Improved Company Image
Consumer Attitudes Towards
Companies that Hire People
with Disabilities
• 92% view companies that hire
people with disabilities
favourably
• 87% prefer to give business to
companies that hire
• 57% of customers would
switch brands because of a
cause
Increased Market Share
Annual disposable income
•Nearly 30% of American families
have at least one family member with
a disability.
•The disability market, including
customers with disabilities and their
families is a US $ One Trillion
Dollar market (www.askearn.org)
•In UK: £80 Billion/US $128 Billion
(Disability Action.org)
•In Canada: $25 Billion (Royal Bank
of Canada, 2001)
What is the ILO Global Business
and Disability Network?
Members
Purposes
• Multinational companies
• Employers’
organizations
• Selected NGOs and
DPOs
• National and regional
networks that address
disability issues
• Sharing of good practices
• Strengthening of
employers’ organizations
at country level
• Joint projects, activities
and tool development
• Link to ILO projects and
activities
Progress so far…
Members
Purposes
• 35 multinationals
• 12 employer organisations
• Plus disabled persons’
organizations and networks
• Held 3 inaugural meetings:
– Paris: Accor Hotels
– New York: USCIB
– Bangalore: Wipro
• Planned:
– Latin American Sept’ 11
– African and other regions
(upcoming)
• Formed a Steering Committee
which met for the first time in
June 2011
• Established communications
strategy for Network
• Operational procedures in
place
• Web site being developed
• Social media coming soon
Members: 35 Companies
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Accor Hotels, France
Adecco, Switzerland
Allianz, Germany
American Express, USA
Carrefour, France
Casino, France
Cisco, USA
Credit Suisse, Asia
Dow Chemicals, USA
Delta Holding, Serbia
Ernst & Young, USA
H & M, Sweden
IBM, USA
Infosys, India
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KPMG, USA
Kyobo Life Insurance,
Korea
L’Oreal, France
Manpower, USA
Marks & Spencer, UK
MphasiS, India
Nokia, Finland
Novartis, Switzerland
Orange, France
PepsiCo, USA
Samsung ElectroMechanics, Korea
Sodexo, France
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Tata Consultancy, India
Telefonica, Spain
Telenor, Norway
Thomson Reuters,
Bangalore
Yum! Brands, USA
UBS, Asia
Volvo, Sweden
Walgreens, USA
Westpac, Australia
Wipro, India
Other Members
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International Disability
Alliance Australian Employers Network on Disability
Bangladesh Employers' Federation
Employers’ Federation of India, Mumbai
Mauritius Employers' Federation
Mongolian Employers' Federation
Namibian Employers' Federation
National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM)
Business NZ, New Zealand
PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi, India
The Employers' Federation of Ceylon, Sri Lanka
US Council for International Business
Regional networks of resource NGOs, universities, etc.
Sample Regional Projects
PEPDEL & INCLUDE
•Cambodia
•China
•Lao PDR
•Thailand
•Vietnam
Irish Funding
Projects
PEPDEL:
Promoting the Employability and Employment of
Persons with Disabilities
(China, Thailand, Vietnam)
INCLUDE:
Promoting Decent Work for People with Disabilities
through a Disability Inclusion Service
(Vietnam with outreach to Cambodia, Lao PDR)
Development Objectives
• To promote the development and strengthen the capacity of
disability inclusion support agencies
• To sensitize policy makers, programme and service providers to
disability issues from a rights-based perspective
• To provide technical advice regarding the inclusion of persons
with disabilities in mainstream policies, programmes and
services
• To improve the employability and employment of persons with
disabilities through revision of relevant legislation and
regulations and through improved enforcement and
implementation
Partners
• Ministry of Labour & other government institutions
(i.e. Ministry of Social Affairs and Education)
• Employers' Organizations and their members
• Workers’ Organizations
• Organizations of & for Persons with Disabilities
• Organizations of Persons Living with HIV-AIDS
• Universities and Students’ Associations
• Private sector
• Service providers such as Micro-Finance & Business
Development Services, Employment Centers
• Media
National Institutions
Laws, Policies and International Conventions:
•Disability Law passed in Vietnam in 2010
•A new quota system established in Thailand in 2010
•Revised Tax Preferential policy (series of Notices and Circulars) in
China in 2010
•ILO Convention No. 159 promoted in Vietnam in 2010/1
THROUGH
Technical advice, sharing good practices, research, consultations,
awareness raising, translation of technical and training materials in
national languages
Trade Unions
“Disability Champions’ Programme” Thailand
• Information Awareness (Union members,
Communities)
• Promoting Participation & Leadership
• Promoting Rights & Policies, Collective
Bargaining & Reasonable Accommodation
• Conducting Surveys & Disability Audits
• Promoting OSH & Return to Work
• Including Disability in the Mandate of the Union
(Policy Union)
Employer Organisations
• Disseminate information to members on national laws &
regulations on disability: seminars, internet, publications
• Provide training to members (HR)
• Surveys on the reality of disability among their members
• Participate in the ILO Global Disability Network
• Promote Inclusive Business and more CSR policies
Universities
• Disability Law Courses and BA and MA level
established in China, Vietnam and Thailand
• Development of Disability Law Curriculum
• Disability Equality Training for Students (Thailand)
• Disability Rights Research (China)
• Disability Surveys with Employers (Thailand)
• Awareness Raising in the Universities
• On-line training on disability law
INCLUDE: Key Results
1) An Include Agency established in Vietnam with the purpose of
providing mainstreaming disability services such as disability
equality training, disability audits, disability employment
services. Clients: microfinance, business service providers,
employment service centres, vocational training centres
2) 100 women with disabilities included in entrepreneurship
development initiatives (training, loans) - Cambodia
3) Inclusive vocational education and training promoted among
ILO constituents through tripartite consultations – 8 countries
4) Capacity of disabled women associations built to deliver
business development training – Lao PDR
BangladeshTVET Reform Project
Component 5: Increased access of under-privileged
groups
•RMG Machine Operators course for under privileged women & women
with disabilities:
– 4 months training at CRP with accommodation
– 8 months employment based on the job training at Interfab
•Apprenticeships;
•Competency based log books;
•Study tours to Sri Lanka (employers, government);
•Integrated focus through other components dealing with policy,
legislation, data, industry engagement, advocacy.
•EC funded.
Other Activities
• Scoping study in India for possible project linking
employers with PWD networks;
• Training for MGNREGA District Officers to promote
inclusion;
• AusAID funded LEED Project in Sri Lanka working to
integrate PWD into new training and employment
opportunities in the rapidly developing post-conflict
north;
• Incorporating disability considerations into existing
tools and initiatives such as Know About Business
(KAB) and women’s entrepreneurship
development.Booklet for employers on the UNCRPD;
• Workshops in Samoa, Vanuatu and Fiji to promote
the UN Convention;
Some Resources
• Employers’ Activities:
http://www.ilo.org/actemp
• NATLEX:
Database of national labour,
social security, and related
human rights legislation
http://www.ilo.org/natlex
• ILO TV:
Global Business and Disability
Network playlist
http://www.youtube.com/ilotv#p
/c/73A22D93B709417B
Some References
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Disability:
http://www.ilo.org/disability
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Inclusion of persons with disabilities:
http://www.ilo.org/skills/areas/WCMS_DOC_SKL_ARE_DBL_EN/lang-en/index.htm
• PEPDEL:
http://www.ilo.org/asia/whatwedo/projects/lang-en/WCMS_112558/index.htm
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INCLUDE: http://www.ilo.org/asia/whatwedo/projects/lang-en/WCMS_114085/index.htm
Contacts
Global Business Development Network
businessanddisability@ilo.org
Debra Perry
Senior Specialist in Disability Inclusion
perry@ilo.org
Barbara Murray
Senior Specialist in Disability Inclusion
murrayb@ilo.org
Emanuela Pozzan
Sub-Regional Coordinator on Disability
pozzan@ilo.org
Paul Comyn
Senior Specialist for Vocational Training
& Skills Development
comyn@ilo.org