Turnover rate of disabled-people almost zero per cent at work

The turnover rate of differently-abled people is almost zero per cent now as they carry out their tasks with responsibility in jobs.

However, as they have some physical or intellectual limitations, or both, employers are reluctant to appoint them.

Many think although this large paty of the society has obtained the highest degree from the universities and other qualifications, they are lagging behind in the job sector due to the outlook of employers.

To make employment easy for the persons with disabilities, job fairs are being arranged for them in the country in the last three years. The private organisations are undertaking various projects to increase employment for the disabled.

Though 10 per cent of total population are somehow disabled, the job opportunity for most of them could not be created due to the employers’ lack of confidence in them.

It is mandatory for the government offices to give work scope to the five per cent disabled people, according to BSS.

Currently 14 ministries are working with the disabled and autistic children. Of them, eight ministries, particularly the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, are very active in this regard.

International Labour Organisation (ILO) Technical Advisor Kishore Kumar Singha said they have to face some challenges while working with the disabled people for their training and employment.

In this case, he said, coordination is needed between government policies and the roles of non-governmental organisations at macro level.

Mentioning that the work is being hampered due to lack of coordination, the ILO official said the government offices should abide by the law of the state of giving work scope to five per cent disabled people.

Meanwhile, the people concerned said the turnover rate of disabled persons from work is almost zero per cent as they are very much disciplined in performing their responsibility.

Head of BRAC Training Programme Ahmed Tanveer Anam said 2,453 disabled people have so far received training from them since 2012 and 867 persons were added to the programme in 2017.

Of them, he said, the job of 99 per cent has been ensured.  The disabled-friendly civil society has put emphasis on finding out a way of utilising the disabled people’s success of the non-institutional sector in the institutional sector.

Job fairs are often arranged in the country to provide employment to the persons with disabilities.

The Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised such a fair on August 08 for creating employment for the disabled as well as keeping in mind social responsibility and economic development.

Different food producing and marketing companies, residential hotels, restaurants, hospitals, educational institutions and industrial organisations took part in the fair.

Nearly 400 disabled people applied for the job to these organisations and over 50 of them were hired.

Earlier at the end of last year, Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) arranged a job fair, the third of its kind, for the disabled.

From this fair, many reputed organisations found out the candidates as per their requirements. In the fair, the entrepreneurs had announced that the job of 3500 disabled people will be ensured in the next three years through training.

Mozammel Haque, who became frustrated due to his disability, received the appointment letter from a job fair for the disabled. He is now an official of ESKE Clothing, a readymade garment factory in Ashulia. Unemployment of such one hundred disabled was over through the job fair.

While inaugurating the fair, Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Autism Saima Wazed Hossain said the disabled will have to be given priority to establish an inclusive society.

“For this, we will have to know from them that where they are facing difficulties and we’ve to work accordingly,” she said.

Saima further said: “We who are healthy and normal only try to feel their problems. But we’ve to know real problems from them and then their problems will be solved.”

Putting emphasis on maintaining changing of the outlook of the people towards the disabled, she said it is possible to remove all barriers of the persons with disabilities through technology.

Principal Coordinator on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) at the Prime Minister’s Office Md Abul Kalam Azad said implementation of the SDG will not be possible leaving out the disabled, who are 10 per cent of the country’s total population.

Training Coordinator of Centre for Rehabilitation of Paralysed (CRP) Ramesh Chandra Haldar said they have signed agreements with some branded companies in the readymade garment sector for recruiting the disabled people.

Accordingly, 2000 disabled people got appointment in different RMG factories in the last 11 years.

Disabled Md Shahjahan said: “We don’t want job in quota, we want job as per our qualification because employment is my rights.”

Executive Director of CRP Shafiqul Islam underscored the need for working together between the government and non-government organisations for the welfare of the disabled.

Besides, he said, a network will have to be developed among the organisations working with the persons with disabilities.