International Labour Organization
ILO Global Business and Disability Network Newsline
October 2015
Network Activities
Inclusive employment and disability
in Egypt
sharing of practices, knowledge and information
among companies and other stakeholders.
On May 11, 2015, an employers’ event on
inclusive employment and disability was held in
Cairo, Egypt. Led by the ILO office in Cairo and
organized in collaboration with the ILO Global
Business & Disability Network, the event gathered
over 70 participants from both multinational and
national companies, as well as several media
representatives.
The event was a direct result from the ILO Global
Business & Disability Network global meeting
held in October 2014 at the ILO headquarters in
Geneva, when Egyptian company representatives
who attended the global meeting showed clear
interest in the topic of disability inclusion and in
learning more about company practices around
the world.
Mr. Khalid Sindi from the Qaderoon Business
Disability Network in Saudi Arabia spoke about
their experiences and current activities and
services. Mr. Sindi gave recommendations to the
potential national network to be established in
Egypt.
Peruvian Business and Disability
Network in the making
Most of the participants saw a great advantage in
meeting regularly to share experiences, discuss
challenges and find common solutions, deciding
to attend an extra meeting held to discuss the
establishment of an Egyptian network and the
involvement of relevant ministries in the debate.
Participants identified two main areas of work for
the potential network: the creation of a database to
match jobseekers with disabilities and companies,
in collaboration with DPOs and disability NGOs; and
Following up on the ILO Global Business &
Disability Network meeting held in Lima, Peru in
December 2014 with a view to establish a Peruvian
network, a workshop was held on 21-22 May this
year to take the initiative further.
Led by the ILO office in Peru, the May workshop
had the concrete goal to gather the companies,
disability organizations and other stakeholders
who had shown interest in creating the Peruvian
network and together design the new network’s
initial projects and elect its steering committee.
The 27 participants representing national
businesses, multinational enterprises, DPOs
CONTACT US
ILO Global Business
& Disability Network
International Labour Office
Route des Morillons 4
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0)22 799 61 11
[email protected]
www.businessanddisability.org
NEWS LI N E ILO Global Business & Disibility Network
October 2015
2
Network Activities
and Employers’ Organizations studied the current Peruvian
employment, business and disability contexts and debated
the future reality they want to create through the newborn
network. Then, they set to create an identity, identify the
most pressing issues and establish the network’s main goals.
work to be done. This challenge is an opportunity for the new
network to share existing knowledge, experiences and company
initiatives and work with NGOs and other institutions, helping
companies train and employ persons with disabilities while
changing current perceptions.
With a steering committee composed of three companies,
two employers’ organizations, three DPOs and one NGO now
in place, the Peruvian network is now ready to get to work.
The meeting was preceded by a two-day Disability Equality
Training (DET) for employers in China. The ILO’s DET
methodology involves participative and dynamic group work
designed to encourage participants to see and understand
disability in a different light, eliminating misconceptions and
preconceived stereotypes. The DET training in Shanghai was
encouraged by several Network member companies who had
previously attended trainings organized by the Network during
meetings around the world. The methodology has been praised
for its effectiveness in changing mindsets.
Business meeting on disability inclusion in
China
On July 10, 2015, the ILO Global Business & Disability
Network held a meeting in Shanghai, China, with the support
of the ILO Office in China and hosted by L’Oréal. “The Diverse
Network of Disability We Want” was the thread that guided
participants through the one-day discussion on the set up of
a Chinese business network for disability inclusion.
The future establishment of a national network in China is
the fruit of a discussion started in 2013, when the first ILO
Global Business & Disability Network meeting was held in
the country. Since then, the ILO office in China has organized
several national activities, generating interest and dialogue
with both employers and disabled people’s organizations and
institutions.
Among the 40 national and multinational companies and
organizations represented at the meeting, 15 have expressed
their interest in being part of the formation of a Chinese
network. A follow-up meeting to define the main goals of the
new network and the overall planning of its establishment is
already being organized.
The discussions and company presentations during the meeting
showed an undoubted increase in the level of understanding
of disability and improvement in attitudes in comparison to
the first meeting held back in 2013. The business case is also
much more acknowledged and understood since. However,
disability is still widely seen in China as a medical or charity
issue rather than a social issue, with much awareness raising
Members of the Peruvian network establish goals
for their newborn network. ©ILO
Bosnian Employers’ Association pushes
for improvements in the disability legal
framework
Last July 23, the Employers’ Association of the Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina (UPFBIH), in collaboration with
the ILO, organized a round table to discuss how to improve
the legal framework for the employment of persons with
disabilities in the country. This roundtable is a part of
UPFBIH’s “Improvement of the employment of people
with disabilities” project. Preliminary research has shown that
93 per cent of Bosnian employers are favorable to employing
persons with disabilities, but 73 per cent pointed out the State
does not encourage it with its present policies and regulations.
Long-term goals of the project are to support entrepreneurship,
encourage employment and raise disability awareness.
In addition to employers, representatives of the Fund for
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, associations of
persons with disabilities and representatives of international
and local organizations also attended and participated in
the event.
Dubravka Halepovic, an independent expert, presented
Working groups during the Shanghai meeting. ©ILO
NEWS LI N E ILO Global Business & Disibility Network
October 2015
3
a research containing an analysis of the current legal and
economic framework, focusing on proposals for the revision
of the labor law concerning the employment of persons
with disabilities. The research included European practices
and trends; European policies; quota systems in European
countries; the current situation in Bosnia regarding the
employment of persons with disabilities and legislation in
this area.
Participants recognized UPFBIH’s efforts and expressed their
overall support in achieving an effective implementation of
the project. UPFBIH will meet with representatives of the
Fund for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment to discuss
future cooperation.
Strengthening collaboration in Brazil
Held on August 20, 2015, in São Paulo, the ILO Global
Business & Disability Brazil Meeting brought international
experts, national and multinational business representatives
and government representatives to continue to encourage
and deepen the inclusion of people with disabilities in the
Brazilian economy and society.
Hosted by GPA (Grupo Pao de Açucar, a Group Casino
company) and supported by Serasa Experian, the event
not only reaffirmed the commitment of all companies and
institutions that have been a part of the now four years long
collaboration in Brazil, but also attested of the progresses
achieved through collaboration. The Brazilian Business
Network for Social Inclusion was the first national initiative
set up with the support of the ILO Global Business & Disability
Network. Established in 2012 by Serasa Experian, the initiative
has grown to include 83 member national and multinational
companies present in Brazil.
“Hosting an event of the ILO Global Business & Disability
Network — that we have supported since its creation, is a
source of pride and joy for us”, said Yves des Jacques, Human
Resources Director and member of the Executive Committee,
Casino. “ Your presence here is proof of the strength of Group
Casino and GPA’s engagement in favor of the inclusion of
people with disabilities and furthermore, in favor of the fight
against all forms of discrimination.”
Andrés Yurén, Employers’ Specialist at the ILO office in
Santiago, Chile, highlighted the fact that the message of
inclusion in the workplace is far more legitimate when it comes
from an employer who employs people with disabilities than
from any other organization.
GPA, Serasa Experian, IBM, Accenture, BASF and Natura
presented how companies set up and run disability-inclusive
initiatives in Brazil and debated how companies can employ
and retain people with disabilities successfully.
“By working with people with disabilities, teams begin to
become more engaged and we begin to raise the bar”, spoke
Rita Carvalho, HR & Corporate Citizenship Manager, GPA,
about the transformation GPA has seen from within. “We go
from training for inclusion to including for training.”
Participants of the Brazil meeting. ©GPA
Guilherme Cavalieri, Latin America Human Resources Director
at Serasa Experian, reminded participants of the responsibility
inclusive companies have to serve as examples and encourage
others in their efforts to create inclusive workplaces.
IBM’s Brazil Diversity Engagement Partner and Latin America
LGBT Leader, Adriana C. Ferreira, spoke about companies’
internal responsibility in the issue: “Communicating what
disability inclusion means is very important, but it should
not be limited merely to when a person with a disability
is hired, to specific events or to the month of December,
when we celebrate the recognition of the rights of people
with disabilities. It should be constant at all levels of an
organization.”
Keith Wiedenkeller, Disability Equality Index Chief Strategy
Officer of the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN),
presented how USBLN supports companies in the United
States. The Brazilian Ministry of Labour and Employment
(MTE) and the São Paulo State Secretariat for the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities also presented projects and initiatives
and discussed the current situation in Brazil regarding the
employment of people with disabilities.
“We have the right to be equals when our differences put
us at disadvantage; we have the right to be different when
equality makes us featureless; hence the need for an equality
that recognizes differences and a difference that does not
generate, feed or reproduce inequality”, said José Carlos do
Carmo, Project Coordinator for the inclusion of persons with
disabilities in São Paulo, Brazilian Ministry of Labour and
Employment.
To watch a summary video of the meeting, visit:
https://youtu.be/bla8fH69pfY
NEWS LI N E ILO Global Business & Disibility Network
October 2015
4
Member News
Telenor opens minds in Bulgaria
This summer, Telenor welcomed five highly motivated
participants into its first Open Mind programme for professional
development and social inclusion of people with disabilities
in Bulgaria. Since 1996, Telenor has employed more than
200 people with disabilities around the world with its Open
Mind programme.
“For us, Open Mind is a ‘win-win-win’ initiative. The first
winner is Telenor, who gets really motivated employees; the
second winners are the participants, who get to demonstrate
their skills and potential; the third winner is the State, that gets
active tax payers who contribute to the economy”, says Ingrid
Ihme, Head of Open Mind and herself a former participant
of the programme.
After completing the two-year job training programme, most
participants are offered permanent jobs at Telenor or elsewhere,
with the support of Telenor. It works because Telenor matches
the candidates’ skills with the company ’s needs. This year’s
participants will join the Process Management, Legal Affairs,
Finance, Technology and Customer Care divisions. The new
employees will work in Telenor’s open and accessible working
environment with salaries that correspond to their jobs, like
any other employee at Telenor.
The Bulgarian Open Mind program for people with disabilities
will be held annually as part of the company’s long-term
corporate responsibility strategy and under the Telenor Group
Open Mind global initiative.
Orange Romania and Poland awarded for
their disability inclusion work
which in the long run will contribute to the improvement of
job satisfaction and allow a better understanding of the needs
of diverse clients. The goal is also to adapt the workplace to
the needs of people with any type of disability and to assist
them in obtaining a certificate of disability, as a part of their
rights. “Yes for Health” contains educational elements for
managers and all employees relating to legal issues, but also
addresses “savoir-vivre”.
“For the first time in our company, we started to openly talk
about disability and fully consider the fact that workers with
disabilities are among us. The organization opened to theirs
needs, recognizing the good values that contribute to the
teams”, says Joanna Wlodarczyk, one of the leaders of the
Polish initiative. “Diagnosis and analysis of these needs and
the launching of the ‘Yes for Health’ project led to a change
in the organizational culture of our company: we answer
questions and managers’ concerns related to the management
of people with disabilities. We present rights and duties of
all employees and we set up our motto: ‘at work we are all
the same’.”
For the future, Orange Poland aims at becoming an exemplary
employer, starting with increasing job opportunities for people
with disabilities. They recognize diverse teams generate
creative solutions for different groups of customers, ultimately
contributing to the achievement of the company’s business
objectives. Orange Romania plans to continue the actions
started in 2010 and to increase internal awareness through
practical guidelines and workshops. Orange Romania will
continue to collaborate with disability NGOs and broaden
their network.
Orange is actively engaged to make a positive contribution
to the employment and well-being of people with disabilities
wherever the company is present. In this year’s Disability
Matters EU event, both Orange Romania and Orange Poland
have been awarded for their inclusion work. The event took
place this June, in The Hague, Netherlands. Disability Matters
brings forward the issue of disability inclusion, celebrates
success stories and creates a debate space about lessons
learned and plans for the future. It is an international corporate
event held in three continents by Springboard Consulting, a
specialized company in the United States.
The Orange Romania team has received a Workplace Award
for its programmes. “Each employee with disability represents
an example of how to stay optimistic and positive whatever
happens in your life”, says Ioana Ramniceanu, Recruitment
Specialist in charge of the award winning project. “We are
proud to have them as colleagues and to be doing everything
for their gentle integration into the company, just as anybody
else. We were honored to receive a Workplace Award and to
have the chance to participate for the first time in such an
event.”, she added.
Orange Poland’s winning project “Yes for health” was born in
May 2013 and has continually expanded since, helping people
with disabilities lead an active work life and feel integrated in
the workplace. The main objective is to build up an open and
friendly work environment, creating diverse and open teams,
Orange Romania’s Workplace Award. ©Orange
NEWS LI N E ILO Global Business & Disibility Network
October 2015
5
Silver medal winning athletes. ©Delta Holding
Delta Holding supports disabled athletes in
Serbia
Delta Holding believes sports are an important aspect of the
inclusion of people with disabilities in society that contributes
to their well-being and rehabilitation. Recently, Delta Holding
has supported a number of sports initiatives in Serbia.
Serbian athletes with intellectual disabilities also took part
in this year’s Special Olympics World Summer Games held
in Los Angeles. Four motivated players of Serbia’s volleyball
team were girls from the “Little Bees” (Male pcelice) club
from Kragujevac, who risked being left out of the competition
if not for a fund-raising soccer tournament organized by
Little Bees earlier this year. The Delta Holding team did not
hesitate to take part in the tournament, contributing with sport
equipment for the girls and an allowance for their stay in Los
Angeles. The Serbian volleyball team returned home from the
Special Olympics World Games with a silver medal for Serbia.
The Delta Holding Foundation also supported two sitting
volleyball tournaments: the 6th International Sitting Volleyball
Tournament Cup Kikinda 2015, organized by volleyball club
Phoenix and held in Kikinda last September; and the Smeč
Volleyball Club’s 7th Sitting Volleyball Tournament Belgrade
Trophy, held in Belgrade this summer. Smec Volleyball Club
and Phoenix are Delta Foundation’s long standing partners.
Delta Foundation is also partnering with the Town of Kragujevac
and the Junior Paralympic Academy to build a sports center in
Kragujevac. The building has been designed so as to provide
the best possible conditions for rehabilitation of persons with
disabilities and to become a regional paralympic center. The
project also includes creating job opportunities for people
with disabilities in the future sports center. This initiative is
the result of a lasting partnership between Junior Paralympic
Club and Delta Holding.
IBM Corporate Service Corps supports
accessibility and inclusion in China
The IBM’s Corporate Service Corps (CSC) was launched
in 2008 to provide IBMers with high quality leadership
development while delivering high quality problem solving
for communities and organizations in emerging markets.
Its participants work on community-driven economic
development projects, at the intersection of business,
technology and society. A number of Corporate Service Corps
projects with a special focus on disability and accessibility
took place recently around the world, one of which was in
China. There, a team of IBMers went to Nanning to work
with the Angel House Rehabilitation Centre — the first nongovernmental and non-profit organization in Guangxi province
that provides services in rehabilitation, early intervention,
education and independent living skills for young people with
mild to moderate cerebral palsy.
In China, the IBMer’s mission included: setting up a road
map for achieving the organization’s next three-year
development strategy and providing recommendations for the
effective organizational management and service delivery;
NEWS LI N E ILO Global Business & Disibility Network
October 2015
6
Member News
developing strategic recommendations to enable Angel House
to become a model non-profit Center of Excellence that can
be applied to other Cerebral Palsy organization’s in China’s
Cerebral
Palsy
Rehabilitation
Network;
providing
recommendations on the future branding and marketing
strategy and enhanced brand perception of Angel House with
a focus on social media techniques and innovative fund raising
models to attract wider attention from public and private
sector donors; and conducting research and collection of
global best practices of rehabilitation organizations for the
disabled and effective organizational management of
non-profits.
IBMers at the Angel House Rehabilitation Center. ©IBM
Qaderoon Business Disability Network
balances supply and demand in Saudi Arabia
Since its inception back in early 2014, Qaderoon Business
Disability Network of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has
worked diligently on changing the mindset of businesses
to create effective inclusion of people with disabilities in
the labour market. Qaderoon has spoken at public forums,
organized events, launched social media campaigns and met
with companies individually to highlight that hiring people
with disabilities makes business sense. However, every time
Qaderoon successfully convinces employers of this fact, the
same question always comes up: “Where can I find qualified
jobseekers with disabilities?”
RIADIS: A history of inclusion at Colcafé,
Colombia
RIADIS, the Latin American Network of NonGovernmental Organizations of Persons with Disabilities
and their Families, and member organization of the
International Disability Alliance (IDA) has shared with
us the history of inclusion at the Colombian company
Colcafé, told from the company’s point of view:
“Our history of inclusion in the company started in
early 2008 in a very anecdotal way: someone left an
envelope marked ‘personal and confidential’ addressed
to the Human Resources Manager of our factory in
Medellin. The sender also specified that the letter
should be delivered directly to the manager - and to
the manager only.
“Intrigued, the manager opened the envelope to find
a resumé. At the very top of the page, written in big,
highlighted capital letters was the sentence ‘I am
Deaf’. The manager scanned the resumé for work
experience and found that the person had over two
years experience as a logistics assistant in a large
company. The manager was somewhat puzzled: ‘Why
highlight his deafness?’And after some thought, ‘Why
couldn’t this person work at Colcafé?’
“To date, Colcafé has hired 30 people with all types of
disabilities: hearing, visual, deaf-blindness, cognitive
and different physical disabilities. In the last eight
and a half years, 40 students with disabilities with
technical, technological and academic backgrounds
have had the opportunity to gain work experience at
Colcafé through internships.
“Today, receiving resumés from candidates with
disabilities and hiring them is no longer a surprise or
something unusual. We are proud to be an inclusive
company.”
Qaderoon has realized that in order to fulfil their mission, they
need to ensure a balance between the interest they generate
and a sufficient pool of qualified jobseekers with disabilities
— without this balance, all efforts would be in vain.
Since then, Qaderoon has been working with other
stakeholders to solve this puzzle. They are collaborating with
the government sponsored Human Resources Development
Fund (HRDF), whose mandate includes profiling unemployed
jobseekers, assessing their skills, providing them with basic
training and placing them in suitable vacancies. Qaderoon
is also engaging disability NGOs, who represent people with
disabilities. Moreover, Qaderoon has taken part in several job
fairs to meet face-to-face with candidates with disabilities
and will soon launch an on-line job portal.
Qaderoon is a network of employers that focuses primarily on
fostering inclusive work environments and culture, but not
only. They are aware of the crucial role of other stakeholders
and the importance of collaboration to achieve the goal of
creating a disability inclusive national workforce.
Colcafé employees. ©Colcafé
NEWS LI N E ILO Global Business & Disibility Network
Charter_DOTS_A3_print.pdf
1
07.10.15
October 2015
7
18:52
THE ILO GLOBAL BUSINESS & DISABILITY NETWORK CHARTER
KNOWLEDGE SHARING
RESPECT AND PROMOTION OF RIGHTS
Report on company efforts to promote the
employment of persons with disabilities to all
relevant stakeholders and share information
and experiences with our members.
Promote and respect the rights of persons with
disabilities by raising awareness and combatting
stigma and stereotypes they face.
EVALUATION
10
Review regularly the company
disability inclusion policies and
practices for their effectiveness.
1
NON-DISCRIMINATION
2
Develop policies and practices that
protect persons with disabilities from all
types of discrimination.
COLLABORATION
9
3
Promote employment of persons
with disabilities among business
partners and other companies and
collaborate with national employer
and business networks, as well as
with organizations working to
advance the rights of persons with
disabilities.
8
4
Promote equal treatment and equal
opportunities for persons with
disabilities by providing reasonable
accommodation in all aspects and
conditions of employment.
ACCESSIBILITY
7
ATTENTION TO ALL TYPES OF
DISABILITIES
Consider the needs of those persons with
disabilities who face particular challenges
accessing the labour market, including
persons with intellectual and psychosocial
disabilities.
EQUALITY OF TREATMENT &
OPPORTUNITIES
6
5
CONFIDENTIALITY
Respect confidentiality of personal
information regarding disability.
Progressively make the company
premises and communication to staff
accessible for all employees with
disabilities.
JOB RETENTION
Undertake appropriate measures to enable
current employees who acquire a disability to
retain or return to their employment.
Upcoming
Business Charter on Disability : Global meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on October 28, 2015
During this special event, the Network will launch its Business Charter on Disability - the first global charter on disability inclusion
in the workplace. The charter will be signed by representatives from multinational enterprises, asserting our common commitment to
create inclusive workplaces for people with disabilities around the world. Mr. Guy Ryder, ILO Director General, will sign the charter
on behalf of the ILO during the signing ceremony.
Participants will share country-specific initiatives and discuss the contemporary issue of mental health at the workplace, following up
on last year’s global meeting. International Sign interpretation and live closed captioning will be provided throughout the meeting.
A live webcast will be available.
When: October 28, 2015, 09:30 – 17:00 CET
Where: ILO headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland
To register, visit http://goo.gl/forms/2T1VnjTRTB
For more information visit www.businessanddisability.org or write to us at [email protected]
CONTACT US
ILO Global Business
& Disability Network
International Labour Office
Route des Morillons 4
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0)22 799 61 11
[email protected]
www.businessanddisability.org