Trainer urges employers to include disabled persons

Fijian employment policies promote representation of disabled persons in employee make-up, but a vocational teacher says the provision must be better enforced.

Jone Robanakadavu, manager training and employment at the Fiji National Council for Disabled Persons raised the point at a public consultation on national employment policy yesterday.

Policy Eight says “make it easier for disabled persons and the elderly to earn an income”.

“There is a two per cent quota to include disabled persons for every 50 people hired and that’s great. But the problem is that the vacuum is not being filled,” Mr Robanakadavu said.

“It’s either they (employers) are not prepared to hire disabled people or because there’s a lack of training.”

The policy has 10 priority areas addressing issues ranging from gender equality in the workplace to eliminating child labour and social injustice.

Salaseini Daunabuna, Permanent Secretary for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, who deputised for the Minister, said the new policy would target youth unemployment.

“The goal of the national employment policy is to set the broad framework in terms of tackling unemployment in the country,” Ms Daunabuna said.

“The policy really is to look at what are the areas we can grow employment in the country and matching that against our economic development and growth in the country.”

Government officials, private sector representatives and some Non-Governmental Organisations were among those at the session.

According to the introduction, the policy was drafted with reference to Goal Eight of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The goal aims to “Increase labour productivity, reduce the unemployment rate, especially for young people, and improve access to financial services and benefits’’. Ms Daunabuna’s deputy, Vilimone Baledrokadroka, said there was a general acceptance of the policies, with almost no objections.

“The one most talked about was self-employment,” Mr Baledrokadroka said. “There was a general consensus among people but people raised the issue about Small and Medium-sized enterprises and how it can be made relevant.”

Many queries were made, he said, on agriculture and accessibility to land.