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August 18, 2006
New rules 'a job threat' to deaf workers
Deaf employees could be forced to give up their jobs because they will no longer be able to use their regular interpreters, a city charity has warned.
Deaf Action, based in Albany Street, said that its workers who communicate through sign language will no longer be able to use interpreters their own companies employ because of new Government guidelines.
A report by Government fund Access to Work, which covers the cost of any assistance disabled people need to enjoy the same rights and conditions as non-disabled staff, claims the charities have been making a profit from the practice and so will no longer meet the full cost of interpreting staff.
Now deaf workers say they will struggle to find freelance interpreters willing to work at lower government rates if they need to attend meetings with hearing colleagues.
Kevin Geddes from Deaf Action, which employs 20 interpreters, said: "The idea that this organisation has been making a profit from this is ridiculous, we don't make a profit from anything, we are a charity."
A spokesperson for the DWP was reported as saying that the guidance which was sent out to deaf people in central Scotland is not new, but that until now some people have been paid too much for sign-language interpretation.
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1184212006
Posted by 4HL on August 18, 2006 5:26 AM
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