FAST,NEWS

Disabled trio and their bosses are real troopers
(SCMP) 11月 22日 星期三 00:03AM
One is autistic, one is hearing impaired and one is physically disabled. But all are employed and their abilities at work have impressed their bosses.

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Recommended by their employers and selected by judges, the three workers are among 12 disabled people given the Outstanding Disabled Employees Awards by the Labour Department yesterday.

As well as their disabilities they have overcome reluctance by employers to hire the disabled, despite a law against discrimination.


"I got a lot of interviews, but people didn't hire me," said Chin Yu-sun, 46. "Disabled people just need a chance. If employers give us a chance, we can do many jobs."

Mr Chin was given a chance in 1997, hired as a car park security guard. He proved responsible and enthusiastic and still works there.


Senior data entry clerk Joyce Wong Miu-kit, who is hearing impaired, was attracted back to a travel company she had left two months earlier after her boss, recognising her efficiency and diligence, offered her higher pay.

"At first my workmates found me annoying, as I had to ask them to write to communicate with me. But now they all understand me and we are good friends," she said.

The responsible and friendly attitude of Lau Mei-yu, 19, who is autistic, has landed her a job as a caretaker at the special needs school where she studied.

"I didn't think I could have a job. So when my principal offered me the chance to stay working at the school, I was very surprised," Ms Lau said.

There are no official statistics on how many companies have hired people with disabilities, but the Labour Department said that the number it has helped find jobs has been rising. From January to October, the department helped more than 2,100 disabled job seekers secure employment, with a placement rate of 64 per cent, the highest in the 27 years since it started providing job-matching services.

"A few years ago, our placement rate was about 60 or 61 per cent. The rise was due to a better economy and to employers being more open-minded in hiring people with disabilities," Permanent Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said.

The department also gave awards to 10 Enlightened Employers who have made special efforts in employing people with disabilities.

Among them is 22-year-old Leung Kwong-chi, owner of Yu San Motor Cleaning Services. Of his seven car cleaners, five are disabled and all are hearing impaired. They earn the same as able-bodied staff.

"They were so happy when I offered them a job," he recalls with satisfaction, referring to a year ago when he started hiring them.