Disability support providers are calling on the Government to show the same support for disability workers as landlords, says New Zealand Disability Support Network CEO Peter Reynolds.

“Disability care and support workers' Pay Equity settlement has been frozen for months, with the Government saying it can’t afford to fund it. To see $3b found for landlord tax cuts, enough to deliver Pay Equity for 60,000 care and support workers, is a bitter pill to swallow.”

Hundreds of thousands of disabled Kiwis and their whānau depend on the help they get from care and support workers. Providers rely on government funding to pay their workers, and matching the $3b found for landlord tax cuts would help pay workers fairly and ease the chronic staffing shortages facing providers.

“Disability support workers are often paid low wages for their challenging work caring for our most vulnerable. You shouldn’t need to be a mega-landlord to get government funding. It’s time for the Government to come to the party and deliver these workers pay equity,” says Mr Reynolds.

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