The American Chamber of Commerce of El Salvador (AmCham) and the National Council for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (CONAIPD), under the auspices of the American Embassy in El Salvador, signed a cooperation agreement on Wednesday to improve the conditions of employment of people with disabilities.
With a duration of three years, the project will provide advice, create and carry out activities that promote awareness about the inclusion of people with disabilities, adapting their spaces so that they can carry out their activities correctly, providing employment opportunities and offering learning workshops.
The executive director of AmCham, Carmen Aida Muñoz, explained that it is necessary to prepare people with disabilities in skills such as English, technology or customer service.
“We have to be inclusive companies, we cannot keep these people out of working life, we have to become people who take all people into account in working life,” explained Muñoz during the signing of the letter of understanding that had place within the forum “Business Strengthening through the Labor Inclusion of People with Disabilities” in which more than 100 AmCham member companies participated.
The spokesperson for the union explained that they allied with CONAIPD because they have the means to guide the execution of the project, they are also the entity that coordinates, monitors, oversees and supervises compliance with the Special Law for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities.
For his part, the United States Ambassador to El Salvador, William Duncan, was the witness of honor at the signing of this agreement. During the event, the diplomat indicated that “when opportunities are created for all people to contribute to society, greater prosperity for countries is promoted.”
“Inclusive hiring practices can lead to higher productivity, greater job satisfaction, and greater innovation,” he said.
In El Salvador, the “Special Law for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities” has been in force since 2021, which in its article 63 establishes that “every private employer has the obligation to hire at least one person with disabilities for every twenty workers they have at their service, ensuring decent work and gender equity for their hiring. The State and its dependencies, the autonomous institutions and the municipalities will have the same obligation”.
Among the activities of the agreement is to keep a record of how many people with disabilities work in all companies affiliated to the institution.