PM’s Employer of the Year Awards – Victoria

I want to congratulate the state and territory winners of the 2001 Prime Minister’s Employer of the Year Awards. All of the winners have shown tremendous commitment to employing people with disabilities and are reaping the rewards.

In Victoria, the winner of the small business category is Tudor Doors.

The company employs 55 people including eight people with disabilities, or 15 percent of their total work force. Tudor has worked closely with Dandenong Valley Job Support since 1993, dedicating a lot of time to ensure that all staff feel comfortable in their working environment. It is company practice for all non-qualified trade positions to be offered first to candidates with a disability, wherever possible.

Employees with disabilities at Tudor Doors take part in timber fabrication, machine operations including wood matching and component inspection, hand finishing timber products and sales.

The state winner of the large business category is Moran Australia.

Moran Australia is one of Australia’s leading designers, manufacturers and distributors of quality lounge furniture. Moran has 250 staff and is based at Noble Park.

Moran has eleven employees with disabilities working at its manufacturing operations. All are employed on a permanent basis and receive award or above award wages. The longest serving employee with a disability has been with the company for over two decades.

Moran has employed and trained people with disabilities in many areas over the last 25 years, from office administrators through to qualified tradespersons. Past employees of Moran have created their own businesses and continued to employ workers with disabilities themselves.

The Prime Minister’s Employer of the Year Awards, which recognise small and large businesses in each state and territory that employ people with disabilities, have been running for 11 years. The number and quality of nominations has been increasing each year.

The Prime Minister’s Employer of the Year Awards is a great opportunity to showcase Australian businesses that are leading the way, and to encourage others to follow suit in creating a fair and just work environment for everyone.

The Prime Minister, Mr John Howard will announce the National Winners of the Employer of the Year Awards at Parliament House on Monday, 26 August.