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LCQ15: Employment of persons with disabilities
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     Following is a question by the Dr Hon Pan Pey-chyon and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (May 9):

Question:

     The purpose of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.  The People's Republic of China is one of the contracting parties of the Convention, which is also applicable to Hong Kong.  In recent years, the Government has also adopted the policy direction which advocates facilitating the integration of persons with disabilities into the community.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it knows the respective numbers of persons with disabilities employed by the Government and public organisations in the past three years, together with the respective types of disabilities of these persons with disabilities;

(b) given the public concern about the rehabilitation and employment of ex-patients with psychotic disorders in recent years, whether the authorities have any specific measure to assist ex-patients with psychotic disorders; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether relevant policies will be formulated;

(c) whether it knows the respective numbers of full-time, part-time and short-term employment opportunities offered to persons with disabilities by the Government and public organisations at present; whether the authorities have any plan to increase such employment opportunities; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(d) whether the authorities will reconsider implementing a quota system for employing persons with disabilities in government departments and public organisations; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The policy objective of the Government in assisting persons with disabilities in attaining employment is to ensure that they have equal access to participation in productive and gainful employment in the open market.  To implement the requirements on the work and employment of persons with disabilities under Article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Government will strive to provide a wide range of employment support and vocational training services for persons with disabilities according to the strategic development directions set out in the Hong Kong Rehabilitation Programme Plan.  These services include selective placement services provided by the Labour Department (LD) to assist persons with disabilities in securing open employment, vocational rehabilitation training provided by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and the Vocational Training Council, and re-training programmes for persons with disabilities provided by the Employees Retraining Board, etc.  To enhance the employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB) collaborates with the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee (RAC) and various sectors in the community to promote the work capability of persons with disabilities, and encourage various sectors to employ persons with disabilities and procure the products and services provided by rehabilitation organisations.  In addition, we have put in place suitable legislative measures against disability discrimination in employment and at the workplace.

     My reply to the question raised by the Dr Hon Pan Pey-chyou is as follows:

(a) and (c) The Government has been proactively encouraging government departments, government subvented organisations and statutory bodies to employ persons with disabilities.  The Government welcomes applications from persons with disabilities for Government positions, and is committed to placing them in appropriate jobs in the Government so as to facilitate their integration into the community.  At present, the Government already has in place a proactive policy on employment for persons with disabilities which offer preferential treatment to candidates with disabilities in their application for Government position.  A candidate with disability who meets the entry requirements for the post concerned will not be subject to any shortlisting criteria and will be automatically invited to attend the selection interview.  Candidates with disabilities will also be given an appropriate degree of preference in order to enable them to compete with able-bodied candidates on equal grounds.  The number of civil servant with disabilities by type of disabilities in 2009 to 2011 can be found at Annex.  We do not have the respective numbers of full-time, part-time and short-term jobs.

     To find out more about the employment of persons with disabilities in Government subvented organisations and public bodies, LWB conducted a relevant survey in 2009.  Among the 261 organisations surveyed, 139 of them had responded, and 63 of these respondents had recorded the number of employees with disabilities.  These 63 organisations had employed a total of 772 persons with disabilities, accounting for about 2% on average of their total number of employees.  As the survey only reflected the overall figures of the employment of persons with disabilities in these organisations, we do not have the breakdown by type of disabilities of the employees, their employment terms and job nature.

(b) The Selective Placement Division (SPD) of LD provides free and personalised employment services to job seekers with disabilities (including patients recovering from psychosis) for open employment.  The placement officers will conduct in-depth interviews with job seekers to understand their job aspirations, provide them with the latest information on the labour market, match the job seekers to vacancies offered by employers and refer suitable candidates to job interviews where appropriate.  After job seekers have successfully secured employment, the placement officers will keep in view their progress and provide assistance where necessary to ensure harmonious working relationship.  In 2011, SPD recorded a total of 576 employment cases of persons recovering from mental illness (including psychosis).

     Moreover, SPD administers the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme (WOPS) which encourages employers to provide work trial opportunities and employment support to job seekers with disabilities through the provision of subsidies.  SPD will also continue to actively approach employers of various industries to promote the working capability of persons with disabilities and to canvass more suitable vacancies for them.

     In respect of SWD, through granting seed money to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for the setting up of small enterprises, the Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through Small Enterprise Project (3E's Project) creates job opportunities for persons with disabilities.  Under the 3E's Project, SWD provides NGOs with a maximum funding support of $2 million per business to meet the set-up capital cost and operating expenses incurred in the initial period of business operation.  A funded business needs to fulfill the requirement that the number of employees with disabilities should not be less than 50% of the number of employees on the payroll of the business.  As at March 2012, 70 businesses were set up under the 3E's Project, creating over 550 job positions specifically for persons with disabilities.  Among those employed, nearly half are persons recovering from mental illness (including psychosis).  To sustain the momentum in enhancing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, the Administration has injected $100 million into the 3E's Project and extended its funding period for each project from a maximum of two years to three years.  Besides, we will provide a $500 mentorship award as financial incentive, thereby encouraging employers to render workplace guidance to employees with disabilities and help them adapt to new jobs.

     To reinforce the efforts in promoting employment for persons with disabilities (including persons recovering from psychosis), LWB, LD and SWD will continue to strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration among the business sector, local communities, NGOs and government departments; launch a series of publicity programmes to enhance public understanding of the work capabilities of persons with disabilities and support services provided by various government departments and rehabilitation agencies for the employment of persons with disabilities; and give due recognition to employers of persons with disabilities.

(d) According to studies by the European Commission in 2000 and the International Labour Organisation in 2003 on measures to promote the employment of persons with disabilities, a mandatory employment quota system has not been proven successful overseas in helping persons with disabilities to secure employment, and some countries have abolished their quota system.  The international trend has in fact moved away from employment quota system to anti-discrimination legislation and enhanced support measures for persons with disabilities.  Indeed, under a mandatory employment quota system, persons with disabilities would be perceived as a liability, making them difficult to be accepted by their peers at work.  This is not conducive to their integration into the community.  We consider that persons with disabilities should be assisted to find appropriate jobs on the basis of their abilities rather than disabilities.  In this regard, apart from providing vocational training and employment support for persons with disabilities, we will continue to adopt positive encouragement measures to enhance job opportunities for persons with disabilities, such as giving due recognition to good employers, sharing good practices and providing incentive and assistance to employers, etc.

     On the other hand, LWB has all along requested all policy bureaux to proactively encourage public bodies and Government subvented organisations under their purview to formulate recruitment policy and employment indicator for persons with disabilities.  These measures may include setting up indicators for the employment of persons with disabilities on a voluntary basis; formulating policies and procedures regarding the employment of persons with disabilities by drawing reference to those for the civil service; publishing the numbers of employees with disabilities in their annual reports; and giving priority in procuring product and services provided by rehabilitation organisations.  LWB and the RAC will continue their efforts to enhance cross-sectoral collaboration among the business sector, local communities, government departments, public bodies and NGOs in promoting the employment of persons with disabilities, thereby supporting the self-reliance of persons with disabilities and their full integration into the community.

Ends/Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:08

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