April 2008

INCLUSION IRELAND WELCOMES ICTU CALL FOR INVESTIGATION INTO SHELTERED WORKSHOPS

 

300 delegates at Inclusion Ireland’s AGM in Tullamore welcomed David Begg’s announcement that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) have asked for an investigation under section 58 of the Equality Act into the current situation where people with an intellectual disability are doing real work, that is productive and profit-making, but are not being paid the minimum wage and do not have employment rights.

 

Mr. Begg, who is General Secretary of ICTU, said the issue was on the agenda of partnership talks in 2002 and has still not been addressed. ICTU and Inclusion Ireland were involved in the development of a code of practice in 2004, which clearly defined the rights of those in sheltered workshops, including an entitlement to be paid. This code has not been implemented.

 

Deirdre Carroll, Inclusion Ireland CEO, said Inclusion Ireland has campaigned for over twenty years on this issue, including for many years prior to the introduction of equality legislation. This announcement is a very important move forward for those working in sheltered workshops as “an estimated seven thousand people with disabilities work in sheltered workshops doing real work but have no employment rights nor do they receive a proper wage. The HSE is currently reviewing this situation but will the recommendations be implemented or will the report join all the other reports on this issue on the back shelf?” 

“Inclusion Ireland has campaigned for greater rights for those working in sheltered workshops, for many years. Over twenty years ago we published a booklet calling for the Government to make formal statutory provision for sheltered employment and enact legislation to grant legal status to the worker in sheltered employment. At that time we highlighted the lack of employment rights for those doing real work in sheltered workshops as a huge problem facing people with an intellectual disability. We are still highlighting this problem twenty years later.

 

Deirdre Carroll this morning unveiled the results of a poll recently commissioned by Inclusion Ireland, which showed that 97% of those polled believe people with an intellectual disability should have the opportunity to work. She says “It is encouraging to hear that the public feels people with disabilities can contribute and should have the right to work. It is now time that provisions are put in place for those working in sheltered workshops to have equal employment rights.”

 

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