WHAT a strange affliction which seems to be gripping some of the ministers of this government.

Firstly we have welfare reform minister Lord Freud's statement that disabled workers might not be "worth" the full minimum wage.

Strangely, a comment made in a fringe meeting, not the House of Commons or another forum where his views could be roundly challenged. Somewhere where, some might suspect, those making such comments might seek to "preach to the choir" of those they imagine hold views such as theirs.

Somewhere where, unless someone is filming it and putting it on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter, comments like that might never see the light of day in "mainstream media" circles.

As I write this column, he has apologised, but he remains in government. Just why is a mystery. If the man refuses to go with grace for an attitude towards disabled workers which stinks from here to Westminster, his Prime Minister should man up and sack him.

A vote of no confidence in him looks set to be tabled by the Opposition tomorrow.

A new petition calling for Lord Freud's sacking is now trending on change.org.

Then, today, we have media reports that Andrew Selous, a Justice minister and former parliamentary aide to Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, told a fringe meeting that "disabled people work harder because they're grateful to have a job".

The Independent on Sunday reports that Mr Selous made the comments at a Centre for Social Justice fringe meeting, where he was speaking on the government's reforms to the criminal justice system. Tania Bassett and Dave Adams, two senior members of the Napo probation union, which opposes the reforms, were sitting in the front row.

Ms Bassett told the newspaper: "There was a lot of muttering, like 'I can't believe he just said this'. He was talking about employment for offenders, suggesting that, like disabled people, they'll work hard."

Mr Selous defended his position by saying: "My recollection is that the point I was making was the feedback I had... that employers are often very, very pleased with disabled employees; they work harder, they are loyal. These are good reasons to employ disabled people and offenders."

Disability rights campaigners say that the use of the word "grateful" was misjudged.

It's a front bench foot-in-mouth disease.

It all smacks of the worthy and unworthy poor distinctions of this current government to me.

Now, we have the worthy disabled folk, grateful for their chance to work, Cratchit-like in their "God bless us, every one!"

But then there are those who simply don't deserve that minimum wage, through no fault of their own, of course, but - still.....

What next? Who should be in the next layer of gratitude for being given a wage? The poor, the disabled, women who decide to have children?

People with disabilities should not have to feel grateful for basic human rights of any kind, including a decent wage.

They should not have to feel a burden on society.

Because how we treat those who are less able or ill is the measure of us.

And this government is falling short of the measure by which I want my country to live.

Substitute the word illness in this quote for disability: “Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay, nor an offence for which they should be penalised, but a misfortune, the cost of which should be shared by the community," Aneurin Bevan.

THE case of Risca teacher Philip Meredith - cleared of any misconduct by the General Teaching Council for Wales - shows just how unacceptable it is that anyone should have to wait for three years for the allegations against them to be decided upon.

Mr Meredith said that he was not told for 10 months what the substance of those allegations were after he had been suspended.

Then, it was three years of agony waiting for all the school, local education authority and GTCW processes to be completed.

During that time, he was making ends meet with supermarket jobs and could not return to the job he loved.

For three years.

This case surely should prompt an investigation into how it has all taken so long, and that investigation should be made public.

Mr Meredith's school employers, the LEA and the GTCW are all publicly-funded and must answer to us.