World Disability Day: Myanmar company helping disabled people find work

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02:40

In Myanmar, unemployment rates for the disabled are very high. CGTN Correspondent Dave Grunebaum looked at why that was the case, and talked to one company in particular which was trying to change that.

Pastry cooks Thandar Thwe and Thet Naing Soe are making cakes from pouring the frosting to the final touch of the toppings. But you would never guess from their culinary skills that both cooks are deaf.

They communicate with their co-workers with a combination of improvised sign language and an application on their phones. We used this same app to interview them. Thet Naing Soe tells me that he enjoys making pastries and feels happy to have a job. He's 31-years old and has been working here for four years.

But this type of success story is all too rare in this country. The Myanmar Federation of Persons With Disabilities says 85-percent of adults with moderate to severe disabilities are unemployed.

MYAT THU WINN MYANMAR FEDERATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES "We have to convince the government, businesses and society to give them opportunities."

Zwe Ko Ko Soe is 26 and has a university degree in electrical engineering.

ZWE KO KO SOE ENGINEERING GRADUATE "I just need a chance."

He has trouble walking because of cerebral palsy. Zwe Ko Ko Soe is convinced that's the main reason why no engineering company has hired him.

DAVE GRUNEBAUM YANGON, MYANMAR "The country has laws and by-laws that are setting the stage for an eventual quota system, but the numbers haven't been set yet. Labor experts say there are certain steps, long in place in other countries that need to happen here. Otherwise, disabled workers could end up in the wrong jobs."

RORY MUNGOVEN INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION "You need to have good skills programs that can prepare disabled people for meaningful jobs. You need a good employment service that can match supply and demand, can match employers with disabled people who have skills sets. You also need to address some of the issues around access, physical access to buildings."

At the Sule Shangri-La Hotel in Yangon, disabled workers are thriving. The hotel provides training and pays the disabled employees the same wages as their colleagues. Its parent company has its own quota system: at least two percent of the employees in each of its more than 100 hotels are disabled.

PHILLIP COUVARAS SULE SHANGRI-LA GENERAL MANAGER "Most of their job performance is equal too if not better than their colleagues because they have this energy inside of them that they want to actually achieve something. They want to go back and contribute something not only to us but to their families."

And for these pastry cooks, getting the chance to work is oh so sweet.