VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Social Affairs Juliari P Batubara raises awareness of the rights of people with disabilities, including the right to have the opportunity to work.

"Although there are still many shortcomings from the government to meet the needs of people with disabilities, I invite everyone to be optimistic. The government cannot work alone and need cooperation with all parties, including the private sector," Juliari said in a press release, in Jakarta, on Thursday.

He explained that Law Number 8 of 2016 concerning People with Disabilities regulates, among other things, the fulfillment of the rights of persons with disabilities to have job opportunities.

According to Article 53 of the law, he continued, the government, local governments, state-owned enterprises, and regional-owned enterprises have an obligation to employ people with disabilities with a quota of at least two percent of the total number of employees or workers.

Private companies, according to the provisions, are obliged to employ persons with disabilities of at least one percent of its total employees.

The Minister of Social Affairs reminded the government, business entities, and private companies to carry out the law.

To support the fulfillment of these obligations, the Minister provides a vocational center to train people with disabilities.

The Ministry also coordinates with other ministries and government agencies to provide public facilities that are friendly to persons with disabilities.

Special Staff to the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Angkie Yudistia, stated that fulfilling the rights of persons with disabilities is a shared responsibility.

"The mandate of the law lies with the Ministry of Social Affairs, but the Ministry of Social Affairs cannot work alone. Ministries, other institutions, and all of us must collaborate with each other because this is a human rights issue," Angkie said. (Antaranews)