Rolling Through

Australia has a labour shortage.  The most recent unemployment figures were  4.2% , the lowest rate since 2008.  

Supply chain issues due to the Omicron wave are leaving supermarket shelves empty.  Anne Ruston, Minister for Social Services suggested recently that unemployed people need to step up to fill the gaps.  We saw headlines about the unemployed being forced into work.  But if there are jobs, why is anyone unemployed?

Ruston is trading on the stereotype that people on Jobseeker choose unemployment.  What is she conveniently ignoring ? 

1. Australia’s Jobseekers are (often) people with disability

In March 2020, when lockdowns began in Australia, 42% of people on unemployment benefits (Jobseeker) were disabled people. This was a substantial increase from 2014, when we were just 25% of that group.  What changed?  The government has made it progressively harder for people with significant disabilities to qualify for the (slightly higher) Disability Support Pension. 

“550,000 disabled people are in employment services right now … It is absurd to think that people who are disabled or chronically ill can suddenly pick up and fill gaps in the workforce”

Kristin O’Connell,  Antipoverty Network

The government judges more and more of people with disability “able to work” and puts us on unemployment payments, complete with compulsory obligations to look for work.  We are assessed as “able to work”, according to how we function and move around the community.  Our ability to effectively compete against non-disabled job seekers for the same jobs doesn’t come into it. 

If we can use a keyboard, for instance, that’s enough for the government to suggest we can do a desk job.  It’s not enough for employers.  They demand that we can type quickly and have proficiency in the latest software.  The government asks no questions about our employability skills.

2. Few employers are willing to employ disabled workers

As the government further restricted eligibility for the Disability Support Pension, they did not create jobs for disabled workers. 

The government did not introduce employment quotas for business to ensure that this new pool of disabled job seekers would be employed. Nothing much happened to change employment practices.  There was no concerted effort to work with employers to find suitable jobs for people who had previously not been expected and certainly not required to participate in the workforce. Employers didn’t change their expectations about employing us.

Many disabled people are now routinely forced to look for work.  Employers willing to take us on remain exceptional and hard to find.  Most employers reject our applications.  Working age people with disability In Australia are twice as likely as those without disability to be unemployed. Long-term unemployment is common.

3. Disabled workers are at higher risk from COVID19

Remember how disabled people were supposed to be prioritised when the vaccine roll-out started?  That idea didn’t last long in practice but it was a good one.  Some disabled people are immuno-compromised or have respiratory conditions.   For others, living with disability means our general health and fitness is lower because we are less able to exercise.  Either way, we’re at greater risk of things going badly if we get COVID19. 

The board of People with Disability Australia (PWDA) is calling on the Disability Royal Commission to launch an emergency public hearing into the impact of the COVID-19 Omicron crisis on people with disability.  They want urgent consideration of the lack of access to testing and personal protective equipment (PPE)for disabled people who are considered at risk.  Without testing and PPE, disabled workers are at heightened risk.  PWDA are also questioning the need for compulsory mutual obligations, which can include face to face appointments and interviews, for disabled job seekers when the virus is so prevalent in the community.

It doesn’t make sense to send people who are at increased risk from COVID19 to work alongside people who are COVID19 close contacts but don’t have symptoms (yet).  Sure, those essential workers are supposed to have daily Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT), but those tests remain in short supply. 

How many employers are letting people work without them?  It’s not safe for anyone, particularly disabled workers.

4. Disabled job seekers have particular work requirements

Disabled people on Jobseeker in the Disability Employment System have been assessed as able to work from 15 up to 30 hours a week.  We can’t work full time. 

The current supply chain issues are at crisis point. Employers will want people who can work more than full-time, not less. Some disabled workers simply can’t work as fast as our non- disabled colleagues. That doesn’t enhance our desirability to employers, especially when the employers are in crisis.

One of the reasons some employers don’t take on disabled workers is that we sometimes need reasonable adjustments to be made to our workplace to enable us to do the job. It could be a particular chair, an adjustable desk, a screen reader or something else.

Reasonable adjustments don’t necessarily require a huge investment, but getting them organised can take a while.  Spending funds on our requirements is a commitment that some employers are nervous about, particularly if they’re not sure it’s all going to work out. Many employers prefer to put workers on casually, but they are unlikely to do that If they have to spend more before we can start.

5. Disabled job seekers need jobs that are a good fit

By definition, disabled workers have limitations on the work we are able to do or the circumstances under which we are able to work – though these  will be different for each person. We have a smaller pool of jobs to choose from. As a wheelchair user, I’m not going to get a job stacking shelves because that requires standing and lifting.  I can only work somewhere that is wheelchair accessible.  I can only get up to a decent typing speed by using dictation software – which means working in a quiet environment, not a shared space.

It’s been months since I used Salesforce.  I’ve had no no need to build a database or use mail-merge while looking for work or building a blog site.  Re-freshing those skills is possible, but employers don’t have time to wait.  They want people who’ve done those things every day for the last two years.  Employers demand “demonstrated experience in…”. Whether it’s administration or fork-lift driving, “Ability to learn…” is rarely sufficient. 

Why talk of forcing people into jobs they can’t do?

The Australian government knows they have a lot of disabled, long term unemployed people on Jobseeker.  They’ve used the changes to Disability Support Pension eligibility to make budget savings.  Those of us who remain unemployed when unemployment rates are low, are the ones who don’t have the skills employers want. 

Many disabled people would like to work but we can’t just step into existing jobs. 

If the Australian government seriously wants disabled people to find work, they need to work with us to address the barriers we face.  We need skilled professionals who can work with us and with employers to negotiate suitable work options.  All we have at present is compliance officers.

By perpetuating the stereotype of the lazy dole-bludger, the government can mis-direct Australians who don’t know who the remaining Jobseekers are, and avoid their responsibility to support disabled people, particularly through Omoicron.   The government can blame disabled people for our own joblessness, and sidestep addressing the disadvantage and discrimination that comes with disability. 

The  government can focus on the “lowest in years” unemployment rate to make themselves sound impressive in the hope that Australians won’t look too closely, and will vote for them in the fast-approaching election. 

My hope is that Australians will see through this sleight- of-hand and hold the Morrison government accountable for the support they have failed to provide, not just to people with disability but to businesses who have been crying out for a more responsible COVID response, including the RAT tests they need to keep their workers safe.  

What do you think? What’s your experience of job seeking? Let me know in the comments.

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