For Dinner Tonight

By Rosemary McKenzie-Ferguson
For dinner tonight, I am making myself a spinach and mushroom omelette- nothing over the top or fancy, but it will be special in its own right. The spinach will come from these pots, these pots form part of the garden at Craig’s Table, the garden was put together and is maintained by the participants here at Craig’s Table. The garden has so much love packed into it that love overflows everywhere.

What is astounding even for me is that a few weeks back a person who works within the workers compensation system here in Australia dropped in for a visit, her comments cut to the bone “I did not think injured workers could do anything like this!”  

What was said was harsh enough, but that this person said the cruelest of words in front of the very people who had done everything from collecting all that is required to start the garden, through to protecting the garden from the Australian summer heat, through to collecting cuttings, through to discussing how to make sure that everything gained enough airflow. All of the hard work involved was shattered by the words of someone who should have known better.

Hence tonight’s dinner will be all the better because the participants simply walked away from the persons ignorance, they did not respond in anyway shape or form.

On the surface the comment was ill-informed and totally without reason so it is easy to brush over it and say that the comment was just rude.

However those in the injured worker community deal with this type of comment each and every day. Just this morning one of the participants called to say she was unable to come in this morning as a new case manager had not done something and the income payment had not gone through.

This meant that after all the automatic debits had been taken out of the bank, the account was over-drawn (meaning this person will be required by the Bank to pay over-draw fees) also meaning that there is no funds to put petrol in her car in order to attend the very place that her claims agent requires her to be at. 

This participant spoke with the new case manager and was told “it will be sorted out by next week” not a mention of sorry or any form of acceptance that the case manager had done something to impact in a negative manner, just “it will be sorted out by next week”. There was not one word of concern as to how the groceries would be purchased, or how a phone bill would be paid or how petrol for the car would be covered. 

There are countless instances where an injured worker has had to borrow money in order to buy life’s basic requirements in order to pay life’s basic expenses. 

I don’t know how many times I have had to speak with land agents and explain once again income payments have not gone through so rent will be late.

I don’t know how many times I have spoken with a chemist in order for an injured worker to get medication because the chemist account has not been paid.

I have lost count of the number of times an injured worker has called for help in all manner of things simply because income payments have not been made.

It is hard enough for injured workers to live on a reduced income, they simply do not have a buffer zone, it is harder still when the system that is meant to be supporting them impedes their ability to get back to “normal” and be able to get back to work. 

For this particular person she is borrowing money from a member of her family in order to attend Craig’s Table today, that is how important being at Craig’s Table is for her. She knows that each time she comes to Craig’s Table she heals mentally and emotionally and she knows she is gaining real skills in order to be able to simply go back to work.

I am always left to ponder how the professionals within the system would cope if their income didn’t arrive in their bank and they were told “it will be sorted out by next week”.  Truth is there is legislation that requires employers to ensure that the pay run works each time every time -somehow though the workers compensation industry doesn’t have to follow the same requirement.

This case manager will knock off this afternoon at 5pm, no thought will be given to the injured worker who has been impacted.
It really doesn’t matter which way I look at this I am just angry and frustrated.

Thus, tonight’s dinner as simply as it will be will have a lot of layers to it mainly due to the injured worker who has been impacted today because this worker spends a great deal of time and effort and energy just tending garden here at Craig’s Table.

Yours in service
Rosemary

www.craigstable.net.au
rosemary@craigstable.net.au
SKYPE Rosemary2412
10^th April 2018