Introduction The Indonesian government has begun to demonstrate an increased willingness to support better participation of people with disability in the country’s economy and foster inclusive societies. Indonesia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Article 27 of which endorses the dignity and worth of people with disability where it states: the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others‌ includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labor market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities. Indonesia has yet to put this Article fully into operation. Since 1997, it has enacted Law 4/1997 on Disabled People, passed an implementation regulation 43/1998 and set a one percent disability quota on companies employing more than 100 employees (ILO 2013). Two decades later, Indonesia enacted Law 8/2016 which is considered to be a substantial shift from a long-standing paternalistic view to a more contemporary rights-based view towards disability. This law also raised the disability employment quota to two percent. However, the effectiveness of these disability laws, regulations and decrees, and the extent of their impact on labor market participation, employment and engagement in livelihoods production across the diversity of the disability population in national and provincial levels are unknown. The Government of Indonesia (GoI) is one of the key players that negotiates and positions the decent work and employment creation for all agenda2. With regards to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both the country’s long-term and medium-term development agendas have an overarching aim to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. This emphasis on employment creation can be extended towards income generating opportunities for marginalised groups, particularly people with disability, and
2From
Keynote Remarks by M. Hanif Dhakiri, Indonesian Minister of Manpower on the SDGs Conference 2016 in Jakarta http://www.ilo.org/jakarta/info/public/pr/WCMS_452662/lang--en/ index.htm. Accessed 6 July 2018 3
