Good news for care workers

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, July 10th, 2009 - 8 comments
Categories: national/act government, workers' rights - Tags: ,

It’s good news that carers for people with intellectual disabilities are getting more recognition. A court decision has found that sleep-over shifts are work and, so, workers need to be paid at least the minimum wage for the whole shift, not just when they have to get up to assist the person.

Apparently, that will increase the wages for a sleep-over shift from about $30 to about $125. IHC is understandably a little worried and this post isn’t about casting them as villians against the workers. There are 250,000 of these shifts a year. Where is the IHC, government-funded with a budget of nearly $200 million, suddenly going to find another $25 million a year?

Time for the government to stump up I would say. $25 million a year is a trifling sum to a government that spends $190 million a day, yet it will ensure that workers get fair pay for doing important and valuable work. If they can find $50 million for the Sir John Key Memorial Cycleway, they can find $25 million for this.

Unfortunately, there still hasn’t been any response from ministers on the issue. They seem to all be under orders to stay the hell out of the media so as not to overshadow Key’s jaunt around the islands.
– Marty G

8 comments on “Good news for care workers ”

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  1. So Bored 1
    10 July 2009 at 1:48 pm

    Hey Marty, its NOT the Sir John Key Memorial Cycleway….unless I am very much mistaken Jonkey is decidedly alive…there is the possibility that he is an avatar or zombie.

  2. Peter Johns - bigoted troll in jerkoff mode 2
    10 July 2009 at 2:18 pm

    Amazing how this post relates to John Key.
    Maybe if Kullen did not waste all of the dough on the shite train set we own then we could have the money to pay for these people.

  3. John McKenzie 3
    10 July 2009 at 2:23 pm

    Some people seem to be confused into thinking this change will result in carers for people with intellectual disabilities being paid minimum wage to sleep. Instead what will occur is the sleep-over shift will disappear, to be replaced by a wake-over shift.

    If it costs the employer the same or similar amounts to have someone sleep or prepare meals, clean and do paperwork I have no doubt which they would choose. I would rather have seen the sleep-over pay increased than individuals forced into working wake-over shifts.

    • Anita 3.1
      10 July 2009 at 2:41 pm

      Aren’t waking shifts paid at a little more than minimum wage?

      Secondly, my impression is that IHC are aiming to provide as “normal” an environment as possible for the people in their care to model “normal” behaviour, which includes the fact that people sleep at night. It would surprise me if they were to move toward modelling odd sleep patterns.

  4. Brian Barry 4
    10 July 2009 at 8:11 pm

    What if they cannot be afforded?

  5. John Ryall 5
    14 July 2009 at 9:19 pm

    I think that if the Prime Minister of any of his cabinet colleagues had to spend up to 200 hours a fortnight in an IHC home and only received an hourly rate of $14-$17 for half of the hours worked then the money to rectify this injustice would soon be found.

    While the system of support for those people with intellectual disabilities is to be admired, the Government has been funding it on the cheap.

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