The Taipei City Government's Department of Labor came under fire yesterday from lawmakers for their employment policy regarding the disabled.
"Disabled workers hired under the subsidy program for marginalized workers are routinely discarded by the department after the initial subsidy runs out," Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Jung-chang (
Wang's criticism came after 24-year-old Wu Chih-gang (吳誌剛) was told by the department that he could only keep his job for six months after he was hired to perform clerical tasks in April.
Wu was hired under the program after having suffered a stroke-like condition that left him with an uncontrollable tendency to tilt his head backwards.
"I don't need charity, just a job," Wu said on news footage broadcast by TTV this week.
Wu attracted attention from the media by getting down on his knees to plead to the head of the department for his job. However, his appeal was rejected on the grounds that the department could not make an exception in his case.
"It is impossible to permanently hire every disabled person we invite to work here as it would be unfair to all the other disabled people who have not yet benefitted from the program," Director Su Ying-kuei (蘇盈貴) said in the same news footage. "We have limited resources as a public institution and we are bound by the rules."
However, Wang was not happy with Su's explanation.
"The law stipulates that the subsidy runs out after six months," Wang said yesterday.
"It does not stipulate that the worker must be fired after that time," he said.
"The purpose of a subsidy program is to give employers an incentive to give those who suffer from disabilities a chance," he said. "It is not to subsidize free labor for employers."
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