- Conference
- 2007 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 26 February 2007
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference welcomes the intention of the government to give greater assistance for disabled people and those suffering ill health who seek access to work. However it notes with concern that part of the government’s plans for the reform of Incapacity Benefit and replacement by an Employment and Support Allowance involve A) the potential for sanctions for non-participation in work-related activity; B) the delivery of more programmes for this group by private companies under commercial, outcome-driven contracts and C) that these companies would have the power to make decisions regarding sanctions. It further notes the proposal in the Freud Report for privatising employment-related services for claimants after one year of their claim. UNISON believes that these plans and proposals are unacceptable. It is inappropriate that private companies should profit, and even receive a share of benefit savings, when people get work through the support of numerous agencies, including the National Health Service, as well as their own efforts. Conference recognises the invaluable support available to disabled workers through the government’s Access to Work Scheme (ATW). We believe a properly funded scheme could help disabled people stay in work, assist employers to open up job opportunities to disabled people and make public services more responsive to the needs of disabled people.
We share the concerns of sister unions in the civil service where ATW funding has been withdrawn from government departments since October 2006 and the consequences for their disabled members jobs. We commit to fight any attack on ATW services in workplaces where our members are employed.
Conference notes the dire employment prospects of disabled people:
1)only 50 per cent of disabled people are in work;
2)one million disabled people without a job want to work;
3)the average hourly pay of a disabled employee is 10 per cent less than that of non-disabled people;
4)unemployment rates for visually impaired people stands at 75 per cent, for Deaf British Sign Language users it is 63 per cent, for those with mental ill health it is 80 per cent and only 17 per cent of people with learning difficulties are in paid work.
Conference is also concerned that:
a)inadequate resources are available to fully support disabled people into work as part of the government’s welfare reform measures;
b)arbitrary reductions in funding available for British Sign Language/English interpreters, resulting in unqualified language services available to deaf public service workers and users;
c)the scheme is generally not available to volunteers seeking work experience opportunities;
d)there has been no expansion in resources particularly to assist employers to meet their obligations under the Disability Equality Duty.
Conference therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to work with the National Disabled Members’ Committee to:
i)lobby government to increase ATW resources to support disabled people coming off benefit and into work;
ii)reinstate funding for deaf workers’ access to qualified and registered sign language interpreters;
iii)extend the scheme to volunteers seeking work experience in public services;
iv)expand provision to enable employers to meet their obligations under the Disability Equality Duty;
v)agree to inform ministers of this position of opposition to sanctions within the Employment and Support Allowance and the privatisation of access to work provision and in particular the potential for private companies to implement sanctions;
vi)join with other trade unions and campaigning groups to seek to change these provisions and to prevent the proposals in the Freud Report on privatisation of employment services from being implemented.