Only 7.6 Million, KSP Says Absorption Of Workers With Disabilities Is Not Optimal

Deputy V of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Jaleswari Pramodhawardani. BETWEEN/HO-

JAKARTA - Deputy V of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Jaleswari Pramodhawardani assessed that the absorption of workers with disabilities, both in the formal and informal sectors, is still far from ideal.

Citing BPS data for 2022, Jaleswari said, around 17 million people with disabilities are of working age (productive age), but of this number, only 7.6 million are absorbed in the world of work.

"This figure is still far from ideal and we need to increase it," said Jaleswari at the signing of the commitment to cooperation between the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the National Commission for Disabilities (KND), as stated in a press release received in Jakarta, Antara, Wednesday, February 9.

According to Jaleswari, a service unit is needed that can respond to various challenges in the world of work for persons with disabilities, especially in the formal sector.

"Because until now, there have been many cases of complaints related to regulatory requirements that still limit the variety or degree of certain disabilities to access job opportunities and career paths," he said.

On that occasion, Jaleswari also appreciated the efforts of ministries/agencies and private companies in accelerating the absorption of workers with disabilities. In the formal sector, for example, he continued, every year there is an increase in the number of civil servants with disabilities. Likewise in the informal sector.

"Based on the 2019 BKN data, there are 2,149 people with disabilities working in various central and regional agencies. Meanwhile, in the informal sector, as of June 2021, around 0.84 percent of the workforce in 553 companies are people with disabilities, equivalent to 4,554 people," he said.

Jaleswari hopes that the signing of a joint commitment between the ILO and KND will be a positive synergy in overseeing policy recommendations and suggestions regarding the mapping of workers with disabilities. "This is very good for the share of the job market in Indonesia," he explained.