VASS Survey

Thank you to everyone who returned their VASS Survey forms.  We had a great response.  Results will be included in the Newsletter containing the proceedings from the Rotorua meeting, which will be posted out to you shortly.  The winner of the prize draw was Peter Gray from Nelson-Marlborough DHB Intellectual Disability Support Services.  Your prize is in the post, Peter.

‘Walking the Talk’ Best Practice Journal

The latest issue of our best practice journal has been posted out to all those members who were not at the Rotorua meeting.  If you were at the meeting and did not pick up your copies, or would like more copies, please let me know and I will forward some to you.

COGS

COGS has changed its application process.  There is now one national opening and closing date for applications, rather than different regional application times.  Applications opened on 1 June 2004 and close on 30 July 2004.

COGS makes grants to small community groups to help them pay their ongoing running costs, such as rent, travel costs, volunteers’ expenses and administration expenses.  Most grants are $3000 or less, although some larger grants are made for special projects that are considered a high priority.  You may want to consider applying for conference attendance to the Workability International Conference VASS is hosting in October.

More information on COGS can be found on the internet at http://cogs.cdgo.govt.nz or phone 0800 824 824.

No Exceptions Strategy Review

The ‘No Exceptions’ Strategy was developed in 1998 by the Hillary Commission, in an effort to improve and promote the delivery of physical recreation and sport for disabled people.   Early last year SPARC (Sport and Recreation New Zealand) undertook a review of the strategy and have now produced a discussion document which they would like feedback on.  It identifies a number of issues, including:

• Leisure education – some support workers in the disability sectors have responsibility for, but are ill informed around, people’s recreation and sport education and participation.
• Supported opportunities – direct provision of recreation and sport by disability organisations is reducing and inclusive provision by recreation and sport organisations is increasing.  Communication, networks and support between disabled people and recreation and sport organisations is still emerging.
• Funding – absence of strategies to direct funding from health and education into recreation and sport for disabled people.

If you would like a copy of the discussion document and the feedback booklet related to it you can download these from www.sparc.org.nz .  Submissions close on 12 July.

Research into Pay and Conditions

The Ministry of Social Development has contracted People First to research the support that might be needed to ensure that people with an intellectual disability moving into workplaces receive fair pay and conditions.

This research will be based in and around Wellington.  It will look at negotiations for pay and conditions for people moving into paid work and applying for the Minimum Wage Exemption in August and September. People will get additional support (if needed) in their pay negotiations and also take part in developing resources that will help them learn more about their rights as workers.  If you are a provider in the Wellington region (including Wairarapa) and can identify people who may like to take part in the study please contact the lead researcher, Dr John Tufail phone (04) 905 2553.

The research will also seek to gain an overview of pay and conditions received by people in paid work, partially paid work etc throughout the country.   A sample of vocational services will be contacted to ask them to support this project by filling in a brief questionnaire to help gather this information. 

The Ministry of Social Development has also contracted People First to make three videos to support vocational service providers in their implementation of Pathways.

A committee of People First members and vocational providers will oversee this project.

They are currently trying to identify examples of promising practice that could be included in the videos.  The videos are:

Video 1: Inclusion in Practice

Target audience: service users, families, service providers, potential employers and other people in community settings where inclusion might take place.

Purpose: to show inclusion as a real possibility in the NZ context, raising expectations of providers, service users and families; promoting inclusion among employers and others in the community.

Content:   We will focus on the stories of 4-8 people. We hope to include people living in cities and in small towns and a mix of people with different levels of ability and disability; culture; kinds of work (paid and voluntary); forms of inclusion: tertiary education, leisure activities, etc.

Videos 2 & 3 will be specifically for staff training.  They will look at the values, attitudes, advocacy skills and processes necessary for successful placement of people into paid work and community settings.

If you have some good ideas for the video or know people in paid work and other community settings who may be willing to be filmed then please contact:

Ruth Gerzon

Ph: (07) 312 5310 

Fax: (07) 312 4932  

Email:  gerzon.r@xtra.co.nz

P O Box 3017, Ohope, Whakatane.

Public Transport for People with Disabilities

A report released by the Human Rights Commission recently invites people to make submissions as part of the Commission’s Inquiry into Accessible Public Land Transport for people with disabilities.  The Inquiry, which was announced in September, will consider the need for changes to legislation, regulations, policies and procedures and funding arrangements. Since 1994 discrimination against people with disabilities has been unlawful in a number of areas including access by the public to places, vehicles and facilities and in the provision of goods and services.

The consultation report provides a comprehensive assessment of accessible land transport issues for people with disabilities in New Zealand. The report includes the views both of people with disabilities and of people working in the transport sector.

Submissions close on 31 August. The dates for public hearings, which will be held in centres around the country, are:

• Dunedin - 27-28 September
• Oamaru - 29th September
• Auckland - 30th Sept-2nd October
• Wellington - 4-6th October
• Palmerston North - 7th October
• Hamilton - 8th October

Hearing venues will be posted in the public notices sections of local newspapers closer to the scheduled dates. The information will also be available by contacting the Commission Infoline (0800 496 877) or on the HRC web site: www.hrc.co.nz/Inquiry . 

Submissions or indications of those wanting to present their submissions at the public hearings should be sent to: Bruce Coleman, Project Manager, Human Rights Commission, PO Box 1578, Christchurch; or to brucec@hrc.co.nz .  Public submissions will be received up until 31 August 2004. 

Copies of the Inquiry Consultation Report can also be found on the Commission’s web site: www.hrc.co.nz/Inquiry or by phoning 0800 496 877 or via the TTY access number: 0800 150 111. Braille, plain language and big print versions of the report are also available on request. A marked-up version for use with screen readers is also available.

‘Framework for the Future’

A report on equal employment opportunities in New Zealand published by the Human Rights Commission has found that people with disabilities are one of the most disadvantaged groups in the labour force. 

The chapter of the report about people with disabilities makes the following points:

1. Measurement of progress in the employment circumstances of people with disabilities is sometimes based on an assessment of changes in the policies and practices that affect them, rather than on measuring the outcomes resulting from such institutional changes.  The linkages between policies, practices, and outcomes are often imperfect and the stated intentions of doing the right thing do not translate into positive changes.

2. Comparing the figures from 1996-1997 and 2001, it is observed that across this five-year period, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities increased by 19.5%.  In contrast, the unemployment rate for people without disabilities did not change, standing at 5.9% at both measurement points. 

3. People with disabilities face barriers not only with respect to gaining employment but also in obtaining the education and training that usually enhance the attractiveness of job-seekers to employers.  In 2001, while 66.3% of able-bodied people had attained school or post-school qualifications, the figure for the disabled was 48.6%.  Further, although 20.8% of able-bodied people had no educational qualification, the figure for disabled people was significantly higher, at 31.1%.   People with disabilities tend to be educationally disadvantaged, and this can have implications for their employability.

4. In 2001, 14.0% of workers with disabilities fell outside traditional groupings, while just 4.0% of able-bodied workers did so.  One way to interpret this information is that, in many instances, the notion of what constitutes work differs between disabled and able-bodied workers.  For example, sheltered workshops often provide work for people with disabilities, and this work is recognised as different from the kind of work that is undertaken elsewhere in the economy.

5. A comparison of the annual personal incomes of disabled and able-bodied people shows a tendency for people with disabilities to have less personal income.    At the moment there is no means to appropriately assess changes in the hourly earnings of people with disabilities relative to able-bodied people in New Zealand.  This lack of data creates a major gap for those seeking to track progress in the attainment of equal employment opportunities.  

6. The Disabled Persons’ Employment Promotion Act 1960 gave sheltered workshops a blanket exemption from paying minimum wages and holiday pay to the people with disabilities working in them.  However, the Government is set to repeal the Act because its provisions are deemed discriminatory towards people with disabilities.  Existing providers of sheltered employment will be allowed several years to work through the changes.    There are 262 (sic) sheltered workshops in New Zealand and they provide employment for 3,500 people with disabilities.  Typically, these people receive invalids’ benefits and payments from the sheltered workshops represent top-ups to those benefits.  At present, some sheltered workshops pay as little as $5.00 per week and the national average payment per week is approximately $17.00 (Dearnaley 2003).

7. With the available statistics we assess that there has been little progress, if not regress, in the employment position of people with disabilities. In 2003 significantly more people with disabilities were unemployed and complained about discrimination than in the middle 1990s.

8. In the core public service most departments have not made progress in employing people with disabilities, in identifying the barriers to their equal employment opportunities, or in retaining existing employees with disabilities. Indeed, the number of people with disabilities working in the core public service has declined in recent years.

9. Given this report on progress or the lack of it for people with disabilities, we consider people with disabilities to be one of the most disadvantaged groups in the current New Zealand labour force.

The report makes a number of recommendations, including:

Recommendation 1: EEO advocates should work towards the introduction of legislation that places strong positive duties on all employers, starting with larger organizations, to develop and implement EEO plans, and regularly report on the outcomes. 

Recommendation 3: Any new legislative initiatives should be supported with the use of incentives to encourage positive changes and to discourage lack of action on the part of employers.

Recommendation 7: Actions by private interests to promote EEO should be encouraged.  Branding and other innovative practices would allow organisations that exemplify EEO good practice to publicise their initiatives and advance their reputation among consumers and potential employees.

Recommendation 9: EEO advocates should jointly explore with educators ways to improve the education outcomes of those who have been traditionally disadvantaged both in the education system and the labour force.  For example, the Human Rights Commission could work with the Tertiary Education Commission to forge strategies to promote greater representation of women, people with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities across a range of training programmes.

Recommendation 10:  Political leaders, including Cabinet Ministers (especially those with responsibilities in areas such as State Services, Labour, Disability, Women, Senior Citizens, Pacific Island Affairs and Maori Affairs), should explore new ways to further promote EEO good practice in New Zealand, with the goal of making New Zealand a world leader in efforts that link the pursuit of human rights and human development with the pursuit of economic development.

Recommendation 11: Public and private organisations should engage in coordinated efforts to promote greater public awareness of EEO as a philosophy and practice.  These should include (1) utilising best practice examples and (2) developing guidelines for small businesses.

Copies of the full report are available on the Human Rights Commission website: www.hrc.co.nz .  A summary version is also available.

Information from Workability International

You may be interested in the following information that has been sent to us through Workability International.

• Low Wage Work in USA

Hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been created by the Americaneconomy over the past few months. But there are concerns over the kinds of jobs newlyemployed workers taking.  According to the experts, many of these new jobsare low-wage positions with few benefits and little prospect foradvancement. The most recent Russell Sage Foundation Forum on the Futureof Work held on May 27, 2004 featured three experts talking about the issue with a Washington, DCaudience of non-profit leaders, government officials and foundationrepresentatives. A transcript of the forum is available on the FairnessInitiative Web site at http://www.lowwagework.org.  Speakers at the forumwere Sheldon Danziger, University of Michigan and author of ‘UnderstandingPoverty’; Frank Levy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author ofthe newly released ‘The New Division of Labor: How Computers are Creating the Next Job Market’; and Beth Shulman, author of ‘The Betrayal of Work: How Low-Wage Jobs Fail 30 Million Americans’.  In addition, a short background paper on the subject by Dr. Danzinger isalso on the website.

The website also contains an interesting Myths and Facts page.  It is interesting to note that there is no mention of disabled people in the list of those who are involved in low wage work, and that the occupations with the lowest wages are predominantly those involved with caring for others.

• Disability Website

A disability website from Chinais attracting a lot of international attention. It outlines China’s legislative policies for people with disabilities and covers issues such as employment and rehabilitation.  Some of the language is not what we would consider acceptable in New Zealand, but it is interesting to see what other governments are doing in relation to disability.  Here is an example:

• Article 33: The state shall implement the policy of tax reduction or exemption in relation to welfare enterprises and institutions for disabled persons and self-employed disabled workers in urban and rural areas, and provide assistance in production, management, technology, capital, materials supply, working sites and other fields.

The website address is: www.chinagate.com.cn/english/35.htm

VASS October Meeting

Just a reminder that there will be a VASS meeting in October prior to the Workability International Conference.  The meeting will commence on Monday 11 October at midday and conclude on Tuesday 12 October at midday.  Our AGM will be held on the afternoon of the Monday.  The usual meeting fees for a VASS meeting will apply, i.e. Full Members may send one representative at no charge, and additional representatives, Associate Members and non-Members must pay $70.00 (+ GST). Registration is separate from the Workability International Conference registration.   A registration form will be sent out closer to the time.  The Workability International conference begins with a buffet dinner on the Tuesday night.

We look forward to seeing another great turnout in Christchurch.

Kind regards,

Tess Casey

Executive Officer

VASS

WU304

Newsletter Monthly Newsletter Membership Members receive regular mailouts and newsletters covering specific issues and seeking member comment, notifying any significant Goverment policy changes. Annual Conference The 3rd Annual Conference of Workability International 12th – 15th October 2004 – Christchurch Convention Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand

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