Darien
FENTON
Labour Issues Spokesperson

9 December 2012 MEDIA STATEMENT

Minister should give all disability support workers a fair go

More than a year since the Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Act was passed under urgency there are still many carers who continue to work sleepovers for less than minimum wage says Darien Fenton, Labour’s spokesperson for Labour Issues.

“While I’m pleased that the first group of workers from Idea Services and Tamata Hou will finally be paid the full minimum wage this Christmas, only seven other organisations have been recommended by the government to be passed through the Order in Council process – ensuring their workers were also paid minimum wage for sleepovers.

“Disability Support Workers in 94 other organisations continue to work sleepovers for less than minimum wage.

“The Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, should give these workers what they deserve this Christmas and assure them that their settlements will be expedited so they won’t be waiting another year to be paid a basic wage for doing their jobs.

“The Minister made a big song and dance about this last Christmas saying that the Government supported quality care for vulnerable disabled New Zealanders.

“If that is true, he should also support the workers who care for them and get his Ministry to get on with the job of making sure they are paid properly for the significant and important job they do,” Darien Fenton said.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>