An appeal went out yesterday to multinational companies to help build factories to provide jobs for disabled people.

The Shanghai Disabled Persons' Federation called on more foreign-funded enterprises to provide employment opportunities, saying it was considering building a factory itself next year for disabled people to make envelopes.

The location and management are still under discussion, the federation said. "From next year, some disabled people who are now working for community welfare factories are expected to work at the new factory, to ease the burden on families," said Lian Jinwen, an official with the federation's employment department.

"At present we have five professional bases for the disabled in companies such as Daikin Air-Conditioners and McDonald's," said Lian. "We hope more enterprises can join us, providing employment opportunities for the disabled."

Lian said the federation has investigated the operation of welfare factories overseas, finding many companies had a culture of accepting the disabled. "We found many companies in Ireland, Sweden, Japan and the United States have special working sites for the disabled, which is a good idea for us to follow," she said.

(Shanghai Daily December 19, 2007)