Testing Occupational Empowerment--The First Year of the Law on Welfare for the Disabled

After the "Methods for Compulsory Quotas for Hiring the Disabled" went into effect, the number of handicapped people employed by public and private bodies in Taiwan definitely increased.

The stipulations and penalties are clear and strict (see box) and enterprises responded virtually immediately. China Airlines, for example, which has been a leader in the movement, not only immediately placed ads in newspapers about examinations for employment, they also sent recruitment information to all city and county governments for reference. With the requirements for signing up for the exam (college or university graduate) and the standards for passing the same as for everyone else, China Airlines accepted 15 of the 300 who tested. Further, large enterprises which employ more than 100 people, like Yue Loong Motors and IBM, have hurried to recruit people by either advertising in the papers or by going through private agencies like the Eden Welfare Foundation for the Handicapped which have special occupational training programs for the disabled.

Not enough to go around?: Only considering Taipei City, public and private bodies have, as of the present, employed 3,317 handicapped people, more than twice as many as when the compulsory employment quotas went into effect.

But for the 7,585 organizations across the country which have fixed quotas for hiring the handicapped, today less than 30% have reached the required number. As of April of this year, affected institutions have paid NT$660 million in fines for failure to meet their hiring quotas, while there is another NT$170 million owed but not yet paid by laggards.

IBM, which just can't seem to find enough handicapped employees, has paid more than NT$1 million in "disparity payments" in the past year. Even China Airlines, which aggressively recruited, still needs to cough up the "penalty" for a shortfall of 40 persons.

According to statistics of the Ministry of the Interior, altogether there are 210,000 people with the Handbook for the Disabled (see box) in the Taiwan area. This is ten times larger than the total number to be hired by law. So why haven't public and private enterprises been able to fulfill their employment quotas, so that they must pay large fines?

The Employment and Vocational Training Administration of the Council on Labor Affairs designated Wu Wu-tien, chairman of the Department of Special Education at National Taiwan Normal University, to do a survey of domestic public and private employers. It discovered that 53.1% of employers retain an approving attitude toward the compulsory hiring rates, with only 33.9% opposed. In other words, more than half of employers agree with the spirit of the Law on Welfare for the Disabled. Thus the biggest problem is not in "conception," but in "implementation."

Enterprises have their say: Many enterprise leaders say that it is not that they are unwilling to hire the disabled, but that they cannot find qualified candidates. IBM set up an "obstacle-free" working environment as early as six years ago, but, as Fan Chung-hui of the Department of Personnel notes, "we are very willing to accommodate, but there are many difficulties."

He analyzes that IBM is at present fully staffed, and it would be hard to create ten job opportunities within a short time. If you wanted to fire a person who was suitable and in place just to make a place for a disabled person, no one would accept that. The problem is, even assuming that the company was willing to fire ten employees, it would be much easier said than done to find ten handicapped people to replace them. Their way of balancing things out is to recruit by contract hiring and not the formal method, hoping to contract hire handicapped people to do administrative work or general computer data entry. But the response has not been good. The only handicapped person to be hired left after six months because of problems over position, salary, and other considerations.

Bessie Chang of the First Children's Developmental Center also believes that there is definitely a limit to the number of handicapped who have the skills to be employed.

"The biggest problem in promoting hiring of the disabled at this point is low education," says Pai Shiu-hsiung, director of the Taipei City Department of Social Affairs. Right now the average education of persons carrying handicapped certification is middle school or below, with only 11% high school or above.

Moreover, according to surveys, more than 80% of corporate employers request that their employees have a high school education or above. So you can see there's not much overlap between the supply and demand.

Who are the "marginal people in the employment market"? Another reason for the lack of harmony between supply and demand is that institutions and enterprises all incline toward hiring only the slightly disabled. Cheng Fen-fang, a guidance counselor at the Eden Welfare Foundation for the Handicapped, points out that almost all the enterprises who register with Eden looking for talent emphasize, "It's enough if they are slightly handicapped, but don't send anyone too serious!" In fact, the ability of the slightly handicapped to find employment is stronger in the first place, and the ones who really need assistance are the moderately or seriously disabled--they are truly the "marginal people" in the employment market.

Although government agencies are actively pushing, and many handicapped groups are lending support, it cannot but be said that the newly revised law merely sets employment quotas, without regard for the moderately or severely disabled. No matter whether in accommodating their needs for education, employment, or even living environment, Taiwan's society still has many "obstacles" when it comes to the moderately and severely handicapped.

Lin Chin-hsing, a severely disabled person with a spinal injury, says with feeling: "There is already little enough training and few enough employment opportunities for the handicapped, the possibilities for the severely handicapped are even more rare." Early on, because he was unable to find a job and also unable to find any institution providing occupational training to the severely handicapped, the only thing left to do was buy a few books and study name chop carving op his own--never expecting he would be doing it for ten years.

Persons with moderate or severe limb injuries so that they require wheelchairs to get around also find a relatively low degree of acceptance because so few enterprises have installed "obstacle-free" environments. For the visually impaired, there is a lack of assistance devices (like Braille telephones), so that their choices are also highly limited. They can virtually only do massage or fortune-telling, but now even those work opportunities are being taken over by the sighted or by computers.

Need to get rid of handicaps in attitude: On another front, the incorrect attitude that many in society have toward the disabled intangibly constitutes a major obstacle to employment for the handicapped.

"The fears and prejudice people have toward the disabled generally arise from ignorance," says Bessie Chang of the First Children's Developmental Center. She Points out that many people go so far as to think the handicapped are violenceprone, so they won't touch them, and even reject setting up centers for the handicapped in their neighborhoods.

Take for example the mentally challenged, who find the lowest degree of acceptance in the employment market. People don't really believe that they can handle jobs. "In fact, they only need a little training, and it's no problem for them to do simple tasks," says Chang. For example, she notes, her Center has successfully trained the mentally challenged to prepare box lunches.

From buying the food at the market, to cutting, washing, cooking, and spicing to preparing a complete boxed lunch, the mentally challenged in the Center do very well. The resulting products are not only supplied to the staff and students of the Center, but surplus ones are sold in the neighboring community.

Director Chang states that in the past they tried training in printing, woodwork, and gardening, but the mentally challenged with whom they worked often were able to complete only 40-60% of the job, with ordinary people doing the rest. "Later we discovered that simple tasks in cooking and the food and beverage industry could be completed almost 90% of the time by slightly handicapped children who had undergone training," she reveals in a gratified tone. Already more than 10 participants have been hired by McDonald's, bakeries, or other food and beverage enterprises.

That one is too full, and this one is too empty: Then there are some industries which, finding it easier to employ the disabled, have "surplus employment." According to Department of Social Affairs (DoSA) statistics, by June of 1992, 160 bodies had surpassed their quotas. Except for schools for the deaf, blind, and mentally challenged, and the Cheng Hsin Rehabilitation and Medical Center (set up specially for the handi capped), most are in labor-intensive industries like clothing, electronics, electrical appliances, and so on.

For example, Kanghwa Technology and Sanyang Electric Taiwan Co., which have both surpassed their quotas, are in the manufacturing sector. Sung Yu-chen, head of personnel at Kanghwa, says that they have long employed the handicapped, with some employees there four or five years already; their performance and salary are no different from anyone else.

Sanyang personnel director Hwang Tse-yuan says that everyone is welcome, handicapped or not, as long as they meet the principle of "having the skills to fit the job." More than 90% of the handicapped employees at that company are on the production line. "Staff with lower limb impairments have the same productivity with their hands as anyone, and may even have better concentration," says Hwang.

At present, to meet the needs of various business sectors, the DoSAis undertaking occupational training in computer typesetting, Chinese and English language typing, cooking, massage and use of sewing machines.

The Eden Foundation, aiming or those with limb disabilities, is giving training in computer programming design or computer printing, and is actively doing "supportive employment guidance."

Supportive employment guidance: "Supportive employment guidance is a kind of intensive guidance," states Cheng Fen-fang. The guidance counselor must first understand the handicap, work experience, and attitude of the individual. He or she must accompany them to look for a job, and even accompany them to work for the initial period until they are settled in. Periodically the counselor also does an in-depth investigation of the relations between the handicapped person and his or her employer and coworkers. But because of the costs and manpower required, this type of guidance is still in the early stage.

Besides ten private organizations designated by the Taipei City DoSA to do occupational training, the Vocational Training and Employment Administration of the Council on Labor Affairs, the departments of Social Affairs of Taiwan Province and Kaohsiung City have also commissioned private groups and businesses to undertake occupational training. It is estimated that more than 1,500 people will undergo training in 1993 and be assisted in finding jobs. But it remains to be seen how effective this will be.

For the severely disabled, who have greater difficulty finding employment, Bessie Chang suggests, "Building a 'refuge factory' can reduce the costs to society, and is relatively practicable."

For example, the National Association for the Spinal Cord Injured of the Republic of China plans to spend three years to build a spinal injury refuge center, capable of accepting 1,000 people, in Hsinchu. The entire living and working environment is geared to the needs of the severely handicapped, so that they can find solace, and go on to receive occupational training and work in the refuge factory.

Secretary-general Lin Chin-hsing states: "The refuge center is just a 'halfway house' for the severely disabled. In the end we still hope they can return to society and be accepted by society!"

Where the long arm of the law can't reach: Places that can be reached by law can be improved through the oversight and approval of the implementing agencies. But how can one begin to change attitudes in society?

Eden Foundation counselor Cheng Fen-fang emphasizes that the handicapped do not want "special treatment." One handicapped person who was helped was more than just a little bothered because her superior was not able to treat her normally, and said, "It's really incredible that she has a handicap and can still do all this!" every time he introduced her to someone.

Another woman wanted to leave her job because her boss always was afraid of giving her too much to do, and never corrected her even if she made a mistake, so that she felt she was not making any progress.

Wen Ta-mao, a graduate in Library Sciences from Fu Jen Catholic University with advanced training in library management in the US, faced a similar problem when entering a government agency last September. "My role was not very clear, and it seemed not to matter if I was there or not," he recalls. The supervising agency really did not know what he was capable of, and just wanted to hire a "handicapped person." Because of this Wen spent three months of dedicated performance before the supervising agency sat up and took notice.

Wen Ta-mao notes that only if enterprises can use "a normal state of mind" in hiring the disabled can they give the disabled not only job opportunities but even true dignity.

And this is something that no law can achieve.

[Picture Caption]

Job satisfaction should be everybody's right.

The Committee for the Blind of Taiwan has begun computer classes for those with sight impairments. Students must wear protective glasses so their eyes won't deteriorate; only then can they study.

The Eden Foundation has begun computer programming training for those with limb disabilities.

To promote employment for the disabled, last year Taipei City sponsored a special "Hire the Handicapped Quota Promotion Volunteer Event"; singer Li Pei-ching came to join the festivities.