Employment briefly
Disabled Entrepreneurs Network Established in Britain
The Disabled Entrepreneurs Network was launched in Britain on the International Day of Disabled Persons, December 3. Its objectives are to provide networking opportunities among self-employed disabled people; to signpost opportunities for accessible and appropriate training and development to disabled entrepreneurs; to identify and share good practices on self-employment and small business management with disabled people; and assist in looking at strategic issues around disability, small business management and self-employment.
The Network also plans to hold a series of meetings in the nine English regions. The DEN, funded by a grant from the Department of Trade and Industry, is a project of the long-established Association of Disabled Professionals. Details via email: info@disabled-entrpreneurs.net or on the web: www.disabled-entrepreneurs.net
Australian Government Challenged for Supporting Employment Discrimination
In October the Australian National Council on Intellectual Disability (NCID) filed a complaint with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, calling to account the Commonwealth for supporting disability discrimination in employment.
Representing employees with intellectual disability, NCID is requesting an investigation of the Commonwealth's funding of 263 organizations that employ people with disabilities. NCID is charging that the vast majority of these organizations provide employment terms and conditions that are less favorable than those conditions enjoyed by the general workforce. For example, many funded organizations pay wages that are below the federal award safety net enjoyed by others in the Australian workplace.
NCID further charges that, "Many funded organizations seek to take advantage of the intellectual impairment of employees by negotiating workplace agreements that employees do not understand or cannot bargain with any power. This situation makes a mockery of the Principles and Objectives of the Disability Service Act of 1986. The provision of Commonwealth funding should not be approved to any organization that discriminates against the rights of people with disabilities." Details from Mark Pattison via phone: 0407 406 647 or on the web: www.dice.org.au/employment/DDA_press.html
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