Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

First reading ‘an historic occasion’

First reading ‘an historic occasion’ for home support workers

E tū, the union for home support workers, is celebrating the first reading of a bill in parliament yesterday that will finally see travel time payments for home support workers secured in law.

The Home and Community Support (Payment for Travel Between Clients) Settlement Bill is the result of a settlement between E tū and other unions, the Crown, District Health Boards, and home and community-based care and support service providers.

Before the settlement was reached, home support workers were being short-changed by only being paid for time spent with clients. For some people this meant hundreds of kilometres travelled each week with no pay.

E tū assistant national secretary John Ryall said the change was significant for all home support workers.

“This is a positive step towards the government and providers properly valuing the work required of people in home support,” Mr Ryall said.

“While their hourly rates remain far too low, at least they will now get paid for all the work they do,” he said.

Home support worker and E tū member Tamara Baddeley said the first reading of the bill was an important milestone.

“We were fighting for this for years before the settlement. It’s an historic occasion, seeing the bill begin to move through parliament,” Ms Baddeley said.

“Being paid for travel time has already made my life that much easier. With the travel time sorted, we’re now looking forward to securing guaranteed hours, and of course a proper pay rise when we win equal pay,” she said.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

© Scoop Media

 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.