BackThe Control Yuan carried out an investigation to ensure that the employment rights of people with physical and/or mental health conditions were being upheld. The investigation and follow-up monitoring resulted in improvements in the overall situation, with the total number of people with disabilities employed rising to more than 45 percent above the minimum number required by law.
According to the CY investigation, people with physical and/or mental health conditions have long faced employment-related difficulties, such as low labor force participation, higher than average jobless rates, low incomes, high rates of atypical employment, and inability to make ends meet. The investigation also discovered that it takes on average twice as long for members of this disadvantaged group to find a job, and that most of them do so without utilizing the government’s employment assistance services. In addition, the participation rate in the Ministry of Labor’s (MOL’s) pre-employment training programs for unemployed people with physical or mental disabilities is only 20 percent.
Through the CY’s follow-up monitoring, improvements have been made. The MOL now provides specialized and custom-tailored vocational rehabilitation services for individuals with physical and/or mental disabilities. As of the end of September 2018, the number of people in this disadvantaged group employed by government agencies had risen to 83,311, or 45.31 percent above the minimum legal quota. Furthermore, the number of people with disabilities attending career training courses rose to 1,641 in 2018, with 1,482 of these individuals receiving training certificates.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has spurred local governments to implement concrete measures in line with the People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act. According to official statistics, for the period from Oct. 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 2018, the amount in living assistance subsidies provided by government to individuals with physical or mental disabilities totaled NT$15.85 billion (about US$510 million), with the number of recipients averaging 347,115 per month, while subsidies for residential care and day care for the physically or mentally disabled amounted to NT$6.57 billion (about US$211 million), with an average of 46,842 recipients monthly.
As the nation’s top institution protecting human rights, the Control Yuan will continue with follow-up monitoring of the situation in order to ensure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to find suitable employment and support themselves with dignity.
Source: The Control Yuan, Taiwan
