Singapore Connects with Disabled Workers

   Many “first world” countries have made great strides in the direction of evening the playing field vis-à-vis physical challenges and any associated accommodations that can be made. The US, the UK and Australia, to name a few, have well established laws governing the accommodation of disabled workers in the workplace.
   In many ways it stands to reason that many third world countries are not in the same position to make such accommodations. Indeed, in many such countries it is all they can do to provide the barest of necessities; children may not have a school to attend, there may be an absence of infrastructure altogether.
   However, where possible, and in locations around the world where one may not immediately associate such accommodations, they are sometimes found.
   Singapore is one such country; nestled in the western edge of Southeast Asia, it has run itself with a determinism that makes it exceptional compared to its neighbors. Although its immediate neighbors, Malaysia and Indonesia, have significant metropolitan areas and other hallmarks of “first world” countries, such aspects are the high points, not the norm. And Singapore has been on its own a mere 45 years.
   And here we find such accommodation employment laws for the physically challenged. While it may be noted that many companies that have regional headquarters there may be of Western origin (of the 4,000 MNC's that make Singapore a base, look at the pharmaceutical companies: Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genzyme, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Quintiles, Roche), thereby making such a gesture second nature, that is not always the case. Domestic entities include the Lien Foundation Centre for Social Innovation at Singapore Management University and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
   Naturally, such barrier-free accessibility had to be created. Comprehensive standards were put forth, job training and placement services were established and generous tax deductions were offered to defray modifications and retrofitting. This activity was not restricted to businesses, either. Similar tax and other help was made available to families who cared for the disabled among them. All of this activity was in concert with a robust media campaign.
   As other countries approach the tipping point into first world status it is imagined they, too, will follow suit.

NetCent Communications, (2009). Singapore Human Rights Report. NC Buy. Abstract retrieved from http://www.ncbuy.com/reference/country/humanrights.html?code=sn&sec=5

Singapore Economic Development Board. (2009). . Retrieved from http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index.html