Post by Banjo on Jan 15, 2014 9:36:38 GMT 7
Payout win for disabled on $1 an hour
THOUSANDS of intellectually disabled employees who were paid as little as $1 an hour while working for sheltered workshops under a faulty government wage-assessment scheme will soon have access to a one-off payment.
Assistant Social Services Minister Mitch Fifield will today announce a fund for more than 10,000 people with intellectual disabilities who were working, or are working, for government-subsidised businesses called Australian Disability Enterprises on discriminatory wages.
But there's a catch. No employee or former employee who currently has an action before the courts will be able to access the fund.
Although details of the payments won't be available immediately, The Australian understands the fund will be worth tens of millions of dollars.
The full Federal Court found in December 2012 the government-designed wage assessment tool, called the Business Services Wage Assessment Tool, was "artificial and theoretical" in that it bore no resemblance to productivity benchmarks in the private sector.
"In my view, the criticism of BSWAT is compelling," judge John Buchanan said at the time.
The former Labor government subsequently asked the Australian Human Rights Commission during the caretaker period ahead of the September election for a three-year exemption on finding a better wage tool, a request which has yet to be considered.
Senator Fifield said the fund would make payments to those with intellectual disabilities who have had their wages assessed using BSWAT and claim to have experienced economic loss as a result. "The scheme will deliver certainty for these employees, their families and carers, as well as their employers, while the implications of the BSWAT court decisions are worked through," he told The Australian.
"The Australian government's priority is to ensure minimal disruption to the employment of these supported employees."
The first round of court action was brought by Michael Nojin and Gordon Prior. Mr Nojin, who has cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability, was earning $1.85 an hour doing tasks such as document shredding while Mr Prior, who is legally blind and has a mild intellectual disability, was earning less than $3 an hour doing gardening work at the time.
There are about 190 not-for-profit ADEs - formerly known as sheltered workshops - across Australia, typically employing a mixture of people with disabilities in gardening, cleaning, laundry and packaging work.
The Coalition fund to be announced today won't be available to anybody who currently has proceedings in the courts for back-pay.
A representative action covering almost all intellectually disabled employees who were BSWAT-assessed was filed in the Federal Court in December and is due for a directions hearing next month.
Any one of the approximately 10,000 people covered in that action would need to opt out in writing if they wished to access a payment under Senator Fifield's scheme, which begins in July.
www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/payout-win-for-disabled-on-1-an-hour/story-fn59noo3-1226801793266
THOUSANDS of intellectually disabled employees who were paid as little as $1 an hour while working for sheltered workshops under a faulty government wage-assessment scheme will soon have access to a one-off payment.
Assistant Social Services Minister Mitch Fifield will today announce a fund for more than 10,000 people with intellectual disabilities who were working, or are working, for government-subsidised businesses called Australian Disability Enterprises on discriminatory wages.
But there's a catch. No employee or former employee who currently has an action before the courts will be able to access the fund.
Although details of the payments won't be available immediately, The Australian understands the fund will be worth tens of millions of dollars.
The full Federal Court found in December 2012 the government-designed wage assessment tool, called the Business Services Wage Assessment Tool, was "artificial and theoretical" in that it bore no resemblance to productivity benchmarks in the private sector.
"In my view, the criticism of BSWAT is compelling," judge John Buchanan said at the time.
The former Labor government subsequently asked the Australian Human Rights Commission during the caretaker period ahead of the September election for a three-year exemption on finding a better wage tool, a request which has yet to be considered.
Senator Fifield said the fund would make payments to those with intellectual disabilities who have had their wages assessed using BSWAT and claim to have experienced economic loss as a result. "The scheme will deliver certainty for these employees, their families and carers, as well as their employers, while the implications of the BSWAT court decisions are worked through," he told The Australian.
"The Australian government's priority is to ensure minimal disruption to the employment of these supported employees."
The first round of court action was brought by Michael Nojin and Gordon Prior. Mr Nojin, who has cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability, was earning $1.85 an hour doing tasks such as document shredding while Mr Prior, who is legally blind and has a mild intellectual disability, was earning less than $3 an hour doing gardening work at the time.
There are about 190 not-for-profit ADEs - formerly known as sheltered workshops - across Australia, typically employing a mixture of people with disabilities in gardening, cleaning, laundry and packaging work.
The Coalition fund to be announced today won't be available to anybody who currently has proceedings in the courts for back-pay.
A representative action covering almost all intellectually disabled employees who were BSWAT-assessed was filed in the Federal Court in December and is due for a directions hearing next month.
Any one of the approximately 10,000 people covered in that action would need to opt out in writing if they wished to access a payment under Senator Fifield's scheme, which begins in July.
www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/payout-win-for-disabled-on-1-an-hour/story-fn59noo3-1226801793266