Local residents with disabilities have shown little interest in the government’s Employment Incentive Program for Disability Pension Beneficiaries.
A total of seven people participated in the program in the first month of its implementation, according to the latest information released by the Social Security Fund.
According to a report by Jornal Va Kio, Chau Wai I, vice-president of a subsidiary association of the Women’s General Association of Macau, noted that there are approximately 11,000 citizens in Macau living with some form of disability.
Chau remarked that many of these citizens have disabilities that prevent them from working, and that the government needs to review its policies to encourage the employment of the disabled. Chau pointed out that they, as well as their caretakers, worry about the inclusion of disabled citizens in the job market.
The government’s Employment Incentive Program for Disability Pension Beneficiaries provides disabled residents a 90-day trial placement period.
According to Chau, several reasons affect the willingness of the disabled to participate in the government program. For instance, they find it rather difficult to change jobs once they realize that their old jobs are unsuitable for them.
Furthermore, once the disabled residents become publicly employed, they no longer receive the government’s pensions or subsidies.
Chau suggested that the government should remedy the scheme on two fronts; by establishing friendlier employment policies for the disabled and by conducting research on additional tax relief policies that could benefit the small-to-medium enterprises that are involved so that they could provide more opportunities to the disabled. JZ
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