A Winding Road to Get a Decent Job

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Mentally handicapped women participate in a training program on producing handicrafts with colored cloth using shibori techniques at the Yakkum Rehabilitation Center complex, Ngaglik district, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Wednesday (12/11/2019). The training was held for two months. Such training programs are held routinely at the center to help people with disabilities become productive and financially independent.

October 2019 was an unforgettable month for Mahreta Maha, 38, a blind person from Jakarta. She was very happy because she got word over the telephone that she had been accepted to work in a state-owned enterprise (SOE).

"Very happy. Who, does not want to work in an SOE, whose status is almost the same as a civil servant, especially those of us with disabilities. Perhaps the salary is low, but it provides security into old age," said Mahreta, Sunday (15/12/2019), in Jakarta.

Mahreta is one of many people with disabilities who applied to work at SOEs when the Indonesian Human Capital Forum (FHCI) organized a BUMN job applicant test for people with disabilities in March-April 2019.

Even though she passed the test, her fate was uncertain. In August, she was contacted by telephone and asked if she was “blind-one or blind-two”. Mahreta answered that she was blind in both eyes.

"Then the person who called told me, ‘sorry, mbak, if you are blind in both eyes, you cannot be accepted. If you are blind-one, you can be accepted’,” said Mahreta, who after receiving the call, contacted the FHCI.

Later, in October, she got a notification that she had been accepted at a state-owned company. At the end of November 2019, she was asked to attend training.

Later, in October, she got a notification that she had been accepted at a state-owned company. At the end of November 2019, she was asked to attend training. "I started working on Dec. 2, 2019, but apparently I worked as a contract worker for a certain time in the call center. In fact, I applied to be a permanent employee," said the graduate of the School of Law, Atma Jaya University, Jakarta in 2000.

Last week, she received a contract that needed to be signed, but she has not signed it. "I feel this is a lie. In the public, there is information that SOEs accept people with disabilities. In fact, there is still discrimination experienced by people with disabilities," Mahreta said.

Implementation

Mahreta hopes President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is aware of the unpleasant experiences had by people with disabilities. "We are very grateful that Pak Jokowi has given many opportunities to people with disabilities, such as the appointment of expert staff with disabilities. But he needs to pay more attention to the implementation of the law at the lower level, which still has many shortcomings here and there," said Mahreta.

In contrast to Mahreta, Renny Indah Budi Setyaningrum, 32, a resident of Piyungan, Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta, also had difficulty applying as a civil servant. Because of an accident about 23 years ago when she was at elementary school, Reni\'s right leg had to be amputated. Since then she has worn a prosthetic limb.

In 2009, Renny completed her undergraduate education in mathematics at the Education and Teaching Department at Ahmad Dahlan University, Yogyakarta. For the past five years, Renny has been working in a non-governmental organization, Advocacy Center for Women, Disabilities and Children (Sapda) Yogyakarta.

Early in November 2019, she heard that the Bantul administration had opened recruitment for prospective civil servants (CPNS)

Early in November 2019, she heard that the Bantul administration had opened recruitment for prospective civil servants (CPNS). She applied to be a mathematics teacher at a state junior high school in the district.

However, in the initial registration process a number of obstacles had already blocked Renny\'s path. In addition to being difficult to obtain a doctor\'s certificate explaining the type/level of disability, she also had difficulty filling out the required information through an online application. When she filled out the part of the form to say she was visually impaired, she saw the message: "sorry we only accept non-disabled applicants".

"It really hurt to read that sentence. I was tired of trying to fulfill the requirements, but when I wanted to upload the data, I was rejected,” said Renny at the program "Hearing the Voice of Women with Disabilities "at the Women\'s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry on Thursday (12/12/2019), in Jakarta.

Mahreta and Renny are just two of the people with disabilities who experienced bitter experiences when trying their luck to become civil servants and employees in SOEs.

Some time ago dentist Romi Syofpa Ismael, whose appointment as a civil servant was annulled by the regent of South Solok, West Sumatra, only because someone reported that Romi had a disability. Romi worked at a health center in South Solok since 2015.

About opportunities for people with disabilities to get jobs in the government/SOE sector, Angkie Yudistia, the a member of the President\'s expert staff, when attending a discussion on disabilities at the Australian embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday, emphasized that since becoming a member of the president\'s staff, she had heard many aspirations of persons with disabilities."

“The government has opened jobs to become civil servants. The Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry has signed a memo that all bureaucracy must open jobs to people with disabilities. The Manpower Ministry has also supported the same program. We ask each company to accept people with disabilities, at least 1 percent [of the total vacant jobs) and 2 percent for civil servants," she said.

Concrete steps from the government to realize the mandate of Law No. 8 of 2016 concerning persons with disabilities are now awaited. At least, in his remarks during the commemoration of 2019 International Disability Day on 3 Dec. 2019 Social Affairs Minister Juliari Peter Batubara insisted that the celebration of International Disability Day be a form of commitment of the Indonesian people in fulfilling the rights of people with disabilities. (SONYA HELLEN SINOMBOR)