People with intellectual disability are getting hourly wages that don’t even cover their bus trips to work. Advocates believe it’s time for a radical overhaul
In Australia, however, that principle has been subject to a perverse interpretation: that subminimum wages are considered justified on the basis that “work of equal value” may take a person with disability longer to perform.
She used to work in an ADE – two three-hour days a week in a school canteen, making toasties and serving meals to students and teachers.
Since leaving the ADE, Hume and Simpson have become advocates for other people with intellectual disability, and work as consultants for Speak Out, an advocacy organisation in northern Tasmania, where they are paid full wages.
For larger ADEs, this income from the NDIS can run well into the millions, with evidence heard by the disability royal commission suggesting much of this goes into capital costs.
For those people who have family support, wage parity might not seem as important, but for those who subsist solely on the DSP, the extra pay would make an enormous difference.
Her experience speaks to a broader problem, which McAlpine and Laverty note, of the failure of the public and private sectors to tailor employment and training strategies for people with intellectual disability.
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In Australia, however, that principle has been subject to a perverse interpretation: that subminimum wages are considered justified on the basis that “work of equal value” may take a person with disability longer to perform.
She used to work in an ADE – two three-hour days a week in a school canteen, making toasties and serving meals to students and teachers.
Since leaving the ADE, Hume and Simpson have become advocates for other people with intellectual disability, and work as consultants for Speak Out, an advocacy organisation in northern Tasmania, where they are paid full wages.
For larger ADEs, this income from the NDIS can run well into the millions, with evidence heard by the disability royal commission suggesting much of this goes into capital costs.
For those people who have family support, wage parity might not seem as important, but for those who subsist solely on the DSP, the extra pay would make an enormous difference.
Her experience speaks to a broader problem, which McAlpine and Laverty note, of the failure of the public and private sectors to tailor employment and training strategies for people with intellectual disability.
The original article contains 1,633 words, the summary contains 189 words. Saved 88%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!