ITC-WelcomGroup provides employment to 215 PwD - TravelBiz.com
April 14, 2009
Indian hospitality giant, ITC WelcomGroup has employed about 215 People with Disabilities (PWDs) at its flagship properties in India and through its supply chain. It started with the employment of one PwD three years ago under the new WelcomEnviron Initiatives programme, a chain which finds ecological solutions. Now it has reached a three digit figure in PwD employment and is in a process of engaging all its suppliers to employ PwD in their organisations. This message was divulged by Niranjan Khatri, General Manager, WelcomEnviron Initiatives.
The company has also developed a simple handbook for the hotel industry that directs one on how to employ PwD and is freely available on its website. According to Khatri, eighty five percent of ITC WelcomGroup flagship properties have special accessible infrastructure for PwD, such as toilets, talking lift and special room et al. ''Now, we will design future hotel properties on the same lines. By employing PwD, the industry can take a positive step towards making a difference to individuals and society at large,'' he added.
Employed PwD work in various departments at ITC WelcomGroup properties. To name a few: a girl with mental palsy handles the linen room at the Rajputana Sheraton, Jaipur; a mobility challenged girl handles the telephone in engineering control room at the Sheraton, New Delhi; a visually challenged violinist plays at the Welcomhotel Grand Bay, Visakhapatnam; a visually challenged flautist plays at the Park Sheraton, Chennai; two pianists - one male, one female - both, visually challenged, play at the ITC Grand Central, Mumbai and eight hearing and speech impaired boys work in housekeeping and pantry at the ITC Green Centre, Gurgaon.
