PPDI Webinar on the Fulfillment of Employment Rights

On September 9, General Election Network for Disability Access (AGENDA) partner Indonesian Disabled People’s Association (PPDI) held a webinar on the fulfillment of employment rights, especially on the right to decent work for persons with disabilities. Chairman of PPDI Mr. Gufroni Sakaril gave welcoming remarks and PPDI Consultant Mr. Ridwan Soemantri shared key findings from two focus group discussions (FGDs) that PPDI conducted with disabled people’s organizations (DPOs), ministries, state companies and private companies. The FGD participants discussed promoting an inclusive work environment for persons with disabilities, advocating for state-owned companies and private companies to conduct accessibility audits, increasing the effectiveness of Disability Service Units, and promoting the fulfillment of employment quotas for persons with disabilities working in the state and private sectors. Mr. Soemantri shared key findings from PPDI’s media monitoring analysis of 34 Indonesian online media articles from January 2020 to July 2021 indicating that progress was being made towards increasing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. For example, in Banten, Bali, South Sumatera and East Borneo provinces, local governments met the employment quota for persons with disabilities. However, the challenge is to create inclusive workplaces to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities such as having accessible parking and ramps, accessible toilet facilities, screen readers and accessible desks and elevators suitable for wheelchair users. The representative of Indonesia to ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Ms. H.E. Yuyun Wahyuningrum reiterated the importance of PPDI’s key findings from their project activities and shared how advocacy for the employment rights of persons with disabilities is rooted in frameworks like  AICHR’s five-year work plan, the AICHR blueprint, AICHR’s 2022 program priorities and ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework. The representative of the Senior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare and Development (SOMSWD) Indonesia Ms. Emma Widiati presented how SOMSWD’s forum provides a strategic opportunity to advocate for the fulfillment of the rights to employment and decent work for persons with disabilities in the ASEAN region. The representative of Indonesia to the ASEAN Commission on Women and Children (ACWC) Ms. Yanti Kusuma discussed ACWC Indonesia’s efforts to prepare youth with disabilities to enter the workforce and to link initiatives from the Ministry of Education with relevant higher education or vocational programs aimed at increasing the knowledge and skills of persons with disabilities to meet the needs of the employment market. Mr. Suhardi from the Ministry of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia and Mr. Andriko Otang from Trade Union Rights Center (TURC) participated as discussants. A total of 143 participants representing the government institutions, DPOs, civil society organizations (CSOs) and media attended the webinar.