The fight to save the jobs of more than 650 people with a disability in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven has stepped up this week.
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On Monday night more than 400 employees of Greenacres Enterprises and The Flagstaff Group, and their parents and carers, packed a Wollongong auditorium amid concerns over job security.
Flagstaff CEO Roy Rogers said the urgent meeting was called in relation to action being taken by a Victorian advocacy group which had the potential to close down both not-for-profit groups.
He said AED Legal Centre Victoria had gone to the Human Rights Commission with the claim that the wage assessment tool used by the groups was discriminatory.
’’Advocacy groups including AED Legal want to impose a way of assessing the wages of people with a disability who work at Greenacres and Flagstaff which would see both organisations shut down,’’ Mr Rogers said.
’’The Supported Wages System has been created for employees on the open labour market, but it’s a flawed system for the people we work with and it’s not financially sustainable.’’
Mr Rogers said the two groups would each be forced to pay an extra $1.5 million a year in wages under the system. Flagstaff and Greenacres employees were currently paid a supported wage negotiated with unions and approved by the Fair Work Commission.
He said the advocacy groups had not considered all the costs associated with employing people with a disability including the extra supervision, training, counselling and social activities.
Leah Monks’ son Shane, 25, who has autism, has worked at Flagstaff for 18 months.
‘’He’s worked on the open labour market and it hasn’t worked,’’ she said. ‘’Flagstaff not only accommodates his disability, it gives him routine and self-worth.’’
Greenacres supported employee Mark McNair, who has Down Syndrome, said it was time to take a stand.
‘’I’ll fight 100 per cent for Greenacres to stay open – if it closed I’d be upset, I’d be bored and I’d miss the company,’’ Mr McNair, 44, said.
A unanimous resolution was passed at Monday’s meeting to ‘’condemn the actions’’ of the advocacy groups.
AED Legal Victoria principal lawyer Kairsty Wilson said the action was being taken on behalf of an employee of a Victorian enterprise, which used the Greenacres wage assessment tool.
