![[Aotearoa] Te Whatu Ora among employers paying 'vulnerable' workers less than minimum wage](http://gpa.net/cdn/shop/articles/bigstock-Happy-Young-Employee-With-Down-456731161_1200x.jpg?v=1670350853)
Many disabled workers in Aotearoa (New Zealand) are still paid far less than minimum wage even as the nation marks an international day of recognition for disabled people. Now advocates are demanding change, Stuff reports.
Steve Drury pays his valued employees an average of only $2.17 an hour. Mr Drury is the general manager at AttainAble, a social enterprise business that runs a factory and community programme in Auckland’s East Tāmaki.
There, according to Stuff reporting, workers with learning disabilities pack, count and label products for contracted customers. Their labour is cheap and Mr Drury claims his business model would not be sustainable otherwise.
“If we then had to pay the minimum wage, we couldn't then offer these customers the jobs at such a low price,” he said.
AttainAble’s situation is permitted as the result of a government programme that allows agencies and companies to employ disabled people at a lower rate based on their productivity.
The scheme has reportedly been criticised by the United Nations (UN) as a “concerning” breach of disability rights, and the Government wants to scrap it.
However, advocates say the changes are taking too long and some agencies taking advantage of the scheme are reluctant to answer questions while .
The secret garden
On the grounds of Waitakere Hospital in west Auckland a 300-square-metre indoor hydroponics garden grows beans, tomatoes and rock melons.
Woodford Gardens is funded by Te Whatu Ora Waitematā (formerly Waitematā DHB). It has been running from Waitakere Hospital since 1993. A promotional video on Facebook describes it as a place for individuals who struggle to find open employment.
Workers develop skills and participate in therapeutic activities such as learning to work with others and gaining horticultural skills. Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) also reportedly funds Wrap ‘N’ Pak, a west Auckland business in operation since the 1960s.
The public health agency is using the exemption to pay workers at these sites an average of $7.98 an hour, according to information obtained from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) under the Official Information Act.
A Te Whatu Ora spokesperson reportedly said its enterprises were a stepping stone for “vulnerable service-users who require assistance gaining the skills and confidence that will one day assist them to seek employment elsewhere”.
They declined to elaborate on whether workers were assisted to seek outside employment, or whether Te Whatu Ora had plans in place for paying the minimum wage.
What is the minimum wage exemption?
In Aotearoa, the minimum wage is $21.20 an hour.
However, companies can apply for an exemption for employees whose disabilities “significantly” prevent them from performing at standard capacity.
As part of the exemption, which is legislated under section 8 of the Minimum Wage Act of 1983, employers must attempt to make reasonable accommodations for the employee.
Currently 167 people are working under a minimum wage exemption permit in Aotearoa (New Zealand), according to MBIE.
Of those, 134 are ‘factory process workers’ and 21 are ‘labourers’, with the rest working in roles across forestry, gardening, cleaning, general clerical and hospitality.
According to MBIE’s Minimum Wage Exemption Guide, an assessing labour inspector must be “satisfied that the employee is significantly disabled to the point that they are limited in fulfilling their work requirements”.
Their prospective employer then conducts a wage assessment that includes measuring a worker’s productivity and competency, before proposing an hourly rate.
The inspector only signs off once the proposed rate is agreed to by the worker, who can be helped through the process by an external support person such as a family member.
Permits are granted for two-year periods, and can be renewed relatively easily through a labour inspector.
A ‘rights-based’ solution
Olivia Kelly, a senior lecturer at AUT’s law school, called business enterprises or ‘sheltered workshops’ a “historical hangover”.
”We’ve failed them as a society,” she said, referring to disabled people earning below minimum wage.
She told Stuff that she’d like to see these workers receive appropriate vocational training for employment on the open market, and said subsidies shouldn’t be based on a disabled person’s productivity.
“That’s discriminatory in itself and other employees don’t get subject to that sort of stuff,” she said.
Ms Kelly said it would be relatively simple for the Government to repeal section 8 of the Minimum Wage Act, and ensure everyone was paid minimum wage.
She warned such a move would mean society needed to put “an enormous amount of support” into making sure disabled people could get jobs on the open market.
However, Ms Kelly added that logistical challenges were no excuse for avoiding a “rights-based approach to working”.
Mr Drury reportedly said he would love to pay staff at AttainAble the minimum wage but claimed there would be a “knock-on effect” if the exemption was withdrawn.
He said external businesses chose AttainAble because labour was cheaper than mainstream suppliers.
“Somehow we've got to be able to keep the best prices going and keep the employees' income coming in at a level that they're currently on, that doesn't affect the benefits,” Mr Drury said.
Government response
Minister for Disability Issues Poto Williams said the Government was committed to replacing minimum wage exemptions.
She said a wage supplement would instead top up wage rates for disabled employees, so that employers can pay them the minimum wage.
“After consultation with the disability sector, officials consider that a government wage supplement is the only feasible way to replace these permits while protecting existing jobs,” she said.
Mr Drury is open to the idea of a government subsidy, although he’s sceptical about how it would work.
“I don't envy the Government at all because it's a problem that's been around for a long, long time that many, many people have tried to solve.”
Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni said replacing the minimum wage exemption was an election manifesto commitment which would be resolved before next year’s election.
Despite the Government’s commitment, the issue has been a concern to United Nations disability rights experts since 2014.
At a UN review in Geneva in August, disability experts repeated the same criticism about Aotearoa and raised additional concerns about segregated employment programmes.
They recommended the Government repeal section 8 of the Minimum Wage Act and “ensure that persons with disabilities are paid on the principle of equal pay for work of equal value”.
In response to this, Ms Sepuloni said, “We accept the UN recommendation and will look at ways to respond to it in due course.”
Source: Stuff
(Links and quotes via original reporting)
Many disabled workers in Aotearoa (New Zealand) are still paid far less than minimum wage even as the nation marks an international day of recognition for disabled people. Now advocates are demanding change, Stuff reports.
Steve Drury pays his valued employees an average of only $2.17 an hour. Mr Drury is the general manager at AttainAble, a social enterprise business that runs a factory and community programme in Auckland’s East Tāmaki.
There, according to Stuff reporting, workers with learning disabilities pack, count and label products for contracted customers. Their labour is cheap and Mr Drury claims his business model would not be sustainable otherwise.
“If we then had to pay the minimum wage, we couldn't then offer these customers the jobs at such a low price,” he said.
AttainAble’s situation is permitted as the result of a government programme that allows agencies and companies to employ disabled people at a lower rate based on their productivity.
The scheme has reportedly been criticised by the United Nations (UN) as a “concerning” breach of disability rights, and the Government wants to scrap it.
However, advocates say the changes are taking too long and some agencies taking advantage of the scheme are reluctant to answer questions while .
The secret garden
On the grounds of Waitakere Hospital in west Auckland a 300-square-metre indoor hydroponics garden grows beans, tomatoes and rock melons.
Woodford Gardens is funded by Te Whatu Ora Waitematā (formerly Waitematā DHB). It has been running from Waitakere Hospital since 1993. A promotional video on Facebook describes it as a place for individuals who struggle to find open employment.
Workers develop skills and participate in therapeutic activities such as learning to work with others and gaining horticultural skills. Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) also reportedly funds Wrap ‘N’ Pak, a west Auckland business in operation since the 1960s.
The public health agency is using the exemption to pay workers at these sites an average of $7.98 an hour, according to information obtained from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) under the Official Information Act.
A Te Whatu Ora spokesperson reportedly said its enterprises were a stepping stone for “vulnerable service-users who require assistance gaining the skills and confidence that will one day assist them to seek employment elsewhere”.
They declined to elaborate on whether workers were assisted to seek outside employment, or whether Te Whatu Ora had plans in place for paying the minimum wage.
What is the minimum wage exemption?
In Aotearoa, the minimum wage is $21.20 an hour.
However, companies can apply for an exemption for employees whose disabilities “significantly” prevent them from performing at standard capacity.
As part of the exemption, which is legislated under section 8 of the Minimum Wage Act of 1983, employers must attempt to make reasonable accommodations for the employee.
Currently 167 people are working under a minimum wage exemption permit in Aotearoa (New Zealand), according to MBIE.
Of those, 134 are ‘factory process workers’ and 21 are ‘labourers’, with the rest working in roles across forestry, gardening, cleaning, general clerical and hospitality.
According to MBIE’s Minimum Wage Exemption Guide, an assessing labour inspector must be “satisfied that the employee is significantly disabled to the point that they are limited in fulfilling their work requirements”.
Their prospective employer then conducts a wage assessment that includes measuring a worker’s productivity and competency, before proposing an hourly rate.
The inspector only signs off once the proposed rate is agreed to by the worker, who can be helped through the process by an external support person such as a family member.
Permits are granted for two-year periods, and can be renewed relatively easily through a labour inspector.
A ‘rights-based’ solution
Olivia Kelly, a senior lecturer at AUT’s law school, called business enterprises or ‘sheltered workshops’ a “historical hangover”.
”We’ve failed them as a society,” she said, referring to disabled people earning below minimum wage.
She told Stuff that she’d like to see these workers receive appropriate vocational training for employment on the open market, and said subsidies shouldn’t be based on a disabled person’s productivity.
“That’s discriminatory in itself and other employees don’t get subject to that sort of stuff,” she said.
Ms Kelly said it would be relatively simple for the Government to repeal section 8 of the Minimum Wage Act, and ensure everyone was paid minimum wage.
She warned such a move would mean society needed to put “an enormous amount of support” into making sure disabled people could get jobs on the open market.
However, Ms Kelly added that logistical challenges were no excuse for avoiding a “rights-based approach to working”.
Mr Drury reportedly said he would love to pay staff at AttainAble the minimum wage but claimed there would be a “knock-on effect” if the exemption was withdrawn.
He said external businesses chose AttainAble because labour was cheaper than mainstream suppliers.
“Somehow we've got to be able to keep the best prices going and keep the employees' income coming in at a level that they're currently on, that doesn't affect the benefits,” Mr Drury said.
Government response
Minister for Disability Issues Poto Williams said the Government was committed to replacing minimum wage exemptions.
She said a wage supplement would instead top up wage rates for disabled employees, so that employers can pay them the minimum wage.
“After consultation with the disability sector, officials consider that a government wage supplement is the only feasible way to replace these permits while protecting existing jobs,” she said.
Mr Drury is open to the idea of a government subsidy, although he’s sceptical about how it would work.
“I don't envy the Government at all because it's a problem that's been around for a long, long time that many, many people have tried to solve.”
Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni said replacing the minimum wage exemption was an election manifesto commitment which would be resolved before next year’s election.
Despite the Government’s commitment, the issue has been a concern to United Nations disability rights experts since 2014.
At a UN review in Geneva in August, disability experts repeated the same criticism about Aotearoa and raised additional concerns about segregated employment programmes.
They recommended the Government repeal section 8 of the Minimum Wage Act and “ensure that persons with disabilities are paid on the principle of equal pay for work of equal value”.
In response to this, Ms Sepuloni said, “We accept the UN recommendation and will look at ways to respond to it in due course.”
Source: Stuff
(Links and quotes via original reporting)