Union challenges non-payment of travel time for home support workers
 
One year after winning the historic case for payment of sleepovers for disability support workers, the Service and Food Workers Union has filed another landmark case.
 
Service and Food Workers Union National Secretary John Ryall said SFWU filed a test case with the Employment Relations Authority on Friday to begin the legal fight for home support workers to be paid travel time.
 
“We believe that a serious injustice has existed for a long time and it must be remedied,” he said. “We believe it is illegal for organisations employing home support workers not to pay them at least the minimum wage for the time they spend travelling between clients.”
 
John Ryall said the union has asked for the Employment Relations Authority to send the case to the Employment Court.
 
The union has filed the case in the name of Wellington member, Tamara Baddeley.
 
“Tamara, and thousands of other home support workers, get paid for the time they spend at a client’s house, but not all the time they spends driving from client to client,” he said. “They are paid an allowance for mileage, but nothing for the considerable time spend traveling.
 
“This is serious injustice for workers doing an important and challenging job and who are already very low paid.” 
 
The Human Rights Commission Equal Opportunity Commissioner, Judy McGregor, has backed the claim and the commission has sought a legal opinion from Wellington law firm Russel McVeagh.
 
The Russel McVeagh opinion concludes that there is a good argument that the travel time between clients constitutes work under the Minimum Wage Act and a test case would have a reasonable change of success.
 
ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On The 2013 Budget

Among Thursday’s main talking points:

We are apparently on track for a margin-of-error $75 million surplus, now in sight for 2014/15. But this sickly creature is hobbling out of the lab on the basis of all kinds of facilitative conjuring: such as trimming by $200 million the amount of new spending next time around.

With this strictly nominal surplus in sight, the 1984-ish justification for eternal austerity will have a news talisman: namely, getting Crown debt down to 20% of GDP by 2020. More>>

Budget Report, Lockup Audio & Images: Budget Day 2013 As always and especially after the managerial mishaps of the past few weeks and months, (e.g. Aaron Gilmore, the Mighty River Power share float, the GCSB mishaps) Budget Day 2013 was always going to be a pageant of reassurance... More>>

Budget 2013 Comment: Plain Sailing, But It's No America's Cup Pattrick Smellie: Compared to the last four budgets, this year's reflects an economy moving out of recession and into calmer waters... Yet if the fastest annual growth rate we can expect over the next two years is 3 percent - with the Christchurch rebuild in full swing - then you'd have to say New Zealand's underlying low-growth problem is far from fixed. More>>

Auckland Discord: Govt’s Power Hungry Housing Approach A Threat - Labour

Last week the Government said this, ‘The Government commits not to use any proposed or existing powers ... to override the council's planning and consenting processes’. But its housing Bill says this; ‘If an accord cannot be reached in an area of severe housing unaffordability, the Government can intervene by establishing special housing areas and issuing consents for developers’. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Housing accords legislation passes first reading - Legislation For Housing Accords, Land Supply - Housing package improves affordability, access
• Greens - Budget numbers show National’s failure on home affordability
• Auckland Chamber of Commerce - Budget 2013: Housing intervention needed
• Out-Link - Gareth Morgan: Response to housing problem limp-wristed
• Earlier, Pre-Budget - Auckland Accord announced

Extending Protest Ban, Relaxing Permit Rules: Govt Abuses Urgency To Extend Anadarko Amendment

The Government is trying to pass legislation under urgency which would make the Anadarko Amendment – which limits protest at sea – apply to an additional 1.7 million square kilometres, the Green Party said today. More>>

ALSO:

• Parliament Today - Parliament Resumes To Pass Budget Bills
• Labour - Government to extend protest ban
• Greenpeace NZ - Oil Companies Lacking ‘Expertise’ and ‘Financial Ability’ Set to Be Handed Drilling Permits
• 2010 image via: Pacific.Scoop - Media watcher gives NZ press nil score card for China oil spill coverage