City Desk :
A new business network is set to support the practical needs of employers who are employing people with disabilities or are willing to make their workplaces more disability inclusive.
Launched by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on December 11 last, the Bangladesh Business and Disability Network (BBDN), is a voluntary group of representatives from business, non-governmental and disabled peoples’ organizations with a primary purpose of helping people with disabilities to find decent work and for employers to recruit staff with disabilities.
“Staff with disabilities brings skills and diversity to workplaces. Hiring them helps foster greater social inclusion and above all, makes good business sense,” said Salahuddin Kasem Khan, President of the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF) under which the network operates.
Speaking at a workshop in Dhaka Khan said by employing people with disability would also help gain social and economic benefit besides promoting growth and productivity.
The BEF with support from the Canadian-funded Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) Project of the International Labour Organization (ILO) organised the workshop to introduce the BBDN to the employers who are currently employing or willing to employ persons with disabilities.
Participants at the workshop were also briefed on how the BBDN could help their companies better accommodate existing workers with disabilities.
Among other activities, the BBDN will help share knowledge and identify good practices among companies and employers’ organizations related to hiring and retention of disabled persons.
It will also assist companies to adhere to international and national labour standards related to disability and provide advice on inclusion of disability issues into corporate policies and CSR programmes.
Linkages will also be forged among companies, non-governmental organizations, governments, employers’ organizations, disabled people’s organizations and international agencies to facilitate BBDN objectives at national level.
This will help, for example, to bring together companies which wish to make their workforce more diverse with potential staff.
A new business network is set to support the practical needs of employers who are employing people with disabilities or are willing to make their workplaces more disability inclusive.
Launched by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on December 11 last, the Bangladesh Business and Disability Network (BBDN), is a voluntary group of representatives from business, non-governmental and disabled peoples’ organizations with a primary purpose of helping people with disabilities to find decent work and for employers to recruit staff with disabilities.
“Staff with disabilities brings skills and diversity to workplaces. Hiring them helps foster greater social inclusion and above all, makes good business sense,” said Salahuddin Kasem Khan, President of the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF) under which the network operates.
Speaking at a workshop in Dhaka Khan said by employing people with disability would also help gain social and economic benefit besides promoting growth and productivity.
The BEF with support from the Canadian-funded Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) Project of the International Labour Organization (ILO) organised the workshop to introduce the BBDN to the employers who are currently employing or willing to employ persons with disabilities.
Participants at the workshop were also briefed on how the BBDN could help their companies better accommodate existing workers with disabilities.
Among other activities, the BBDN will help share knowledge and identify good practices among companies and employers’ organizations related to hiring and retention of disabled persons.
It will also assist companies to adhere to international and national labour standards related to disability and provide advice on inclusion of disability issues into corporate policies and CSR programmes.
Linkages will also be forged among companies, non-governmental organizations, governments, employers’ organizations, disabled people’s organizations and international agencies to facilitate BBDN objectives at national level.
This will help, for example, to bring together companies which wish to make their workforce more diverse with potential staff.
