China to upgrade employment assistance for disabled

Each Chinese county will have at least one institution offering employment to the mentally challenged and heavily disabled people by 2020, the China Disabled Persons Federation (CDPF) said on Wednesday. The requirement was raised in a national plan to build employment assistance institutions for disabled group, issued by eight government departments, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the central bank. These "employment assistance institutions" are considered social-welfare and will help disabled groups find jobs, according to the plan. The target groups will be the mentally and intellectually challenged individuals as well as those with severe physical disabilities, and they should have the "desire and certain ability to work". These non-profit institutions will provide flexibility to workers in terms of working schedule, intensity, remuneration and contract. The programs will be integrated into government procured services for disabled groups, the plan said. The institutions will enjoy favorable policies ranging from financial support, venues and facilities, to social insurance for employees. By 2017, each city district should have one such institution, the plan said. China has about 7.3 million people of working age with mental, intellectual and severe physical disabilities, accounting for 23 percent of the total population of the working-age disabled groups, and their employment rate is much lower than other disabled groups, the CDPF said.