Expand the range of places where people can work despite their disabilities, demonstrating their abilities: At central government ministries and agencies, which must take the lead in tackling such a task, inappropriate inclusion in calculations, which can be described as their having the number of disabled workers padded, has been widespread. This is an unpardonable act.
Regarding the issue whereby government bodies have included those workers not deemed as disabled in the number of disabled workers employed, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has released its survey results. As of June last year, inappropriate counting was detected at 27 of the 33 national administrative organizations, with the padded number totaling as many as 3,460.
This represents more than half of the 6,900 disabled workers the government agencies claimed to have been employing. Even at the labor ministry, responsible for enforcing related measures, relevant cases were found.
The employment rate of disabled workers at the 33 organizations was reckoned to have stood at 2.49 percent of the total, but the actual rate was 1.19. This has fallen short, by far, of the legal standard of 2.3 percent (for fiscal 2017), mandated by the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion Law. A total of 26 organizations were found not to have achieved the legal standard, with 17 bodies having their rates stand at under 1 percent.
These irregularities stem from the fact that the organizations had failed to meet the necessity of confirming whether employees should be counted as disabled workers, either by checking the possession of disability certificates or medical certificates issued by doctors. Even if they did not intentionally pad the figures, it is not something that can be shrugged off because they lacked understanding of the relevant system. Such a low level of awareness about the employment of disabled workers is just appalling.
Offer work-friendly environment
There must be no doubt that such practices have occurred over many years. Measures to prevent such irregularities from recurring must be taken, by thoroughly examining how they came about. The government intends to work out a plan to have the statutory hiring rate of disabled workers achieved. It should be implemented steadily.
The statutory hiring rate for the central and local governments has been set higher than that for private companies. This is to prompt private firms to make efforts, with government bodies actively promoting the expansion of employment of disabled people.
In the case of private companies, their shortfall in proportion to the legally set employment rate, in principle, is hit by a levy due to the government. Should there be no improvements in this regard, the names of such companies could be made public. There are also regular inspections to check whether any manipulation exists.
While having private-sector entities come under scrutiny, central government ministries and agencies were made merely to report to the labor ministry, letting such a slipshod application of the system go unchallenged. Job opportunities have been denied to those disabled people who should have been otherwise hired.
These are the acts that betray those disabled people who are willing to work and those private firms that are trying to achieve the hiring rate. It is necessary to examine what the inspection system should be like.
The statutory hiring rates have been raised, starting this fiscal year, with mentally disabled people newly included in the calculation of the figure. Acts to water down the current trend of increasing the employment of disabled people must not be allowed.
Even among local governments, similar problems have surfaced, one after another. It is believed that such irregularities have been conducted widely at public organizations. The central government, for its part, should bring to light quickly the actual state of affairs across the country.
Utilizing diverse human resources is a pillar of the government's growth strategy. Both the central and local governments have to endeavor to provide a friendly working environment for disabled people.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 29, 2018)
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
