The Labor Ministry's announcement that companies continue to avoid hiring disabled persons is more than a little disappointing. You are at a loss for words to learn that in times when conglomerates are racing to increase spending on social concerns and are increasingly interested in "sharing," they are stingier when it comes to hiring handicapped individuals.
Companies are required by law to hire a minimum number of handicapped persons in order to give the handicapped greater opportunity for employment in a labor market in which they are discriminated against. Employment for the disabled is an opportunity to affirm a sense of self and a means to participate in social life, while simultaneously creating the basis for economic independence. It is the best welfare policy. Therefore, it is a problem to have companies to be acting as if they are doing all they are supposed to when they are not maintaining disabled hiring ratios and paying fees instead.
It is of course not that we cannot understand why companies shun hiring the handicapped. They lack confidence that they will be able to perform at the same standards as non-handicapped employees, there are costs involved in providing the needed workspace and the needed facilities, the possibility of an increase in industrial injury claims, negative views within the company about working alongside the handicapped, and other real problems. A considerable number of those concerns, however, can be overcome by developing the kinds of jobs that are more compatible and discarding prejudice. The cost is not that big a problem if you think of social responsibilities. Companies have a responsibility to devise ways to engage in welfare for the handicapped, the weak in society, together with the government, handicapped organizations, and volunteers.
One has to mention the responsibility of the government here. Government agencies are almost just as much a problem as private companies. There needs to be compulsory stipulations requiring them to follow hiring quotas as soon as possible. There also needs to be improvements in the framework through which the hiring is done. There needs to be more "encouragement funds" for companies to hire handicapped employees, and companies that avoid hiring them need to pay higher fees. There also needs to be a reduction in the range of job types that are excluded from these hiring requirements.
The Hankyoreh, 7 January 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] More Should Be Done To Hire The Disabled |
