Australia — THE
Federal Government's welfare-to-work reforms could add to
the misery of people on disability benefits unless there
is targeted support for them, a new report has
found.
The Productivity Commission
research report into non full-time work arrangements said
even once a person on disability benefits got a job they
might need continuing government support to keep
it.
The report found that in most
cases, a person taking on casual employment had a much
better chance of either going on to full-time work or at
least finding other casual work.
However, in three groups, it found
getting casual work was no guarantee of
certainty.
It found people who had a poor
command of English had a 20 per cent lower chance of
getting full-time work than those who could speak
English.
People who had been out of the
workforce for a long time also had a 20 per cent lower
chance of going on to full-time work.
And, people with disabilities had a
30 per cent chance of actually leaving the workforce
altogether inside a year of getting casual
work.
From July 1, the Government's
welfare-to-work program will kick in.
Under the program, people who are
assessed as being able to work 15 hours or more will move
to the lower Newstart allowance, from the disability
pension, and be required to actively search for
work.
The commission found there needed
to be some ongoing structure support for these people to
prevent them being constantly tossed out of even casual
work.
"In order to alleviate churning,
targeted government measures to assist people with
disabilities in gaining employment should be complemented
by ongoing support once a person is employed," it
found.
The report said that since a sharp
rise in the number of casual workers between 1998 and
2001, the total number had now steadied at about 20 per
cent of all workers.
It also found that for a quarter of
all families, non-traditional work (such as casual hours
or self-employed contractors) was the main source of wage
income.
However, in many cases the income
is supplemented by welfare payments - largely in terms of
family benefits.
