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Bank Mandiri to employ 180 workers with disabilities
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People with disabilities on March 17 watch the plenary meeting at the House of Representatives to pass the Law on People with Disabilities, which aims to protect the rights of disabled people. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A.)
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ndonesia’s largest lender in terms of assets, Bank Mandiri, plans to employ up to 180 people with disabilities this year in line with the People with Disabilities Law approved on March 17.
Bank Mandiri corporate culture senior vice president Aminarti Widiati said the state-owned lender had been employing 10 physically disabled people, five of whom had been recruited through the Bina Daksa Vocational Rehabilitation Center (BBRVBD) in Cibinong, West Java.
“We are targeting to recruit 120 to 180 disabled people this year. We expect to see more companies, especially state-owned enterprises [SOEs], to show their care for people with disabilities,” she said in South Jakarta on Monday.
According to a study by the International Labour Organization (ILO), employing disabled people can positive impact employee morale, bring diversity to a company, raise the quality of services to customers with disabilities and increase productivity, as disabled people tended to be more diligent than non-disabled people.
Julian Sulistianto, 24, joined BBRVBD in February 2015 before he was recruited by Bank Mandiri in September 2015. He lives with a disease characterized by brittle bones that are prone to fracture. Hence, he can only move around in a wheelchair.
“The biggest challenge for people with disabilities comes from themselves. If we can accept ourselves, we can find a way to do everything with our deficiency,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rezky Yami Putri, 27, another disabled person working for Bank Mandiri, said she did not want to be pitied because of her condition. Rezky was born with a deformed left arm half the normal size.
“Although I’m physically deformed, I want to show that I can be independent in terms of having my own income and even supporting my parents financially,” she said.
Looking at the success stories of the first 10 disabled workers, Widiati said Bank Mandiri would expand the program by recruiting more disabled people, including deaf people.
According to the People with Disabilities Law, which revises a 1997 law, the government provides tax incentives for companies hiring disabled people. The law also stipulates that local-government owned companies (BUMD) must reserve 2 percent of their vacancies for the disabled, while private companies must reserve 1 percent.
Under the law, those found to violated the rights of people with disabilities are subject to imprisonment up to five years and a maximum fine of Rp 500 million (US$38,000) (vps/ags)
