PWD in the Workplace

Based on Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2010 Census of Population and Housing, the rate of Persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the population have increased from 1.23% (0.9m) in 2000 to 1.57% (1.4m) in 2010.  About 59% of the PWDs belong to the working age group, 18.9% for 0-14 age range, and 22.1% from the retirement age group.  While the largest chunk of PWD’s population are in the working age group, PWDs are often deprived of getting good and stable jobs, not just in the Philippines, but in other countries as well.  There’s a very few company I know that really open their doors and offer employment to PWDs.  In my 12 years of employment, I have worked for 5 companies already and only 2 of them have open positions for PWDs.   My third employer’s parent company hired an orthopedic-disabled receptionist.  The President strategically placed her in the front line to convey equality among the individuals.  Compared with other receptionists that I have met, she indeed had the sincerest morning greeting, which will definitely lighten up your mood the entire day.  My fourth employer, which promotes diversity in the workplace, also hired an orthopedic-disabled manager.  Except for their legs, the rest of their body parts are functioning well.  Their disabilities do not serve as barriers in communicating with their colleagues.

However, Lamoiyan’s manpower model is an exceptional one.  Lamoiyan is known for manufacturing the local toothpaste – Hapee.  In its manufacturing plant, 35% of Lamoiyan’s workforce are hearing-impaired.  Unlike 2 of my previous employers who hired a small percentage of PWDs, Lamoiyan’s PWD population is quite significant.  I’m also an employee of a manufacturing company, and I’m really impressed how Lamoiyan was able to embed this special program in its production process.  Miscommunication is already one of the most common problems in the workplace, even for physically normal people.  But despite this norm, Lamoiyan took a big leap in giving decent jobs to hearing-impaired employees.  It made me realize that his operations model is really sustainable, particularly for a manufacturing company.  Our company manufactures semiconductors, and I believe we have some jobs that are suitable for hearing-impaired employees as well.  As mentioned in Lamoiyan’s case, one of the strengths of hearing-impaired employees is the attention to details.  This strength can also be used by our company for some processes like manual visual inspection (MVI), a form of quality check. 

Lamoiyan proved that PWDs can be given equal opportunities with the normal people.  I guess two of the hindrances in our country are the government policies and local infrastructures.  Even for normal people, there’s already a high unemployment rate and a high competition in getting a job.  Scarcity of jobs is not only a problem of PWDs, but of normal workforce as well.  Should the government give more job opportunities to PWDs, the next concern is – do we have a PWD-friendly infrastructure and transport system?  Even there are available jobs, the system will not work well if we do not have a good infrastructure for PWDs.  One model that the local government can implement is Swedish Government’s disability policy, with special priorities on the justice system, transportation and IT.  In terms of transportation, “Swedish government has instructed the country’s municipalities to initiate moves to make facilities such as bus and tram stops more accessible,” wherein all citizens, both normal and PWDs, can “work, study, and take part in community activities on equal terms.”  In terms of IT, Sweden’s national IT strategy was to give new IT tools to PWDs, to promote a “greater degree of independence.” In order to provide more equal opportunities to Swedish citizens, the government also provides municipal grants to PWDs for housing modifications, car allowance and subsidies, funding for job hunting, financial assistance from Swedish Social Insurance Agency, and a lot more.  Philippines may still be very far from this ideal state, but it’s not too late to start with small steps to implement changes and improvements in the lives of Filipino PWDs.

(1)    Sweden’s disability policy.  Retrieved from https://sweden.se/society/swedens-disability-policy/