Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government is preparing a new regulation to penalize private-sector companies that refuse to hire disabled individuals, Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Al Jufri said here on Tuesday.

The government trains one thousand disabled men and women every year, but only about 360 of them are hired by companies. "We are still discussing what penalty should be imposed on the companies that refuse to hire disabled candidates," Minister Salim said after signing an MoU with the Association of Indonesian Entrepreneurs (Apindo) here on Tuesday.

Since 1997, Indonesian regulations require companies to ensure that at least one percent of their staff consists of disabled people.

However, the rules do not specify any punishment for companies that fail to comply with that requirement. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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