Alliance Party condemns Attorney General's intervention in sleepover pay court case

Alliance Party media release - For Immediate Release - Sunday, 5 June 2011

The Alliance Party believes that the Attorney General's decision to apply to the Supreme Court for permission to intervene yet again in the IHC sleep over case shows how little regard the government has for low paid workers and for disabled people.

The Alliance believes that the Government would be better advised to spend the money it is using to fight the case on helping to pay sleepover workers a decent pay rate instead, says Alliance Disability Issues Spokesperson Chris Ford.

"With or without the Attorney General, the Supreme Court will rule against them, as has the Employment Court and the Court of Appeal. Therefore, the whole exercise is a blatant waste of taxpayer's money."

"What exactly is wrong with paying disability support workers a decent wage and paying them for all of the hours they work? Nobody should have to work 16 hours for eight hours wages, especially not at the miserly hourly rates support workers are paid. This would not be tolerated in any other sector."

The government can afford to increase funding to IHC and other disability support providers to enable them to pay their workers adequately for the very valuable work that they do.

But they choose not to because they don't consider the disability sector important enough. They prefer to spend taxpayer's money on such things as tax cuts for the wealthy, rugby tournaments, stadiums, cycle tracks, and BMWs for MPs.

"The Alliance Party believes it is time to reprioritize and spend money where it really matters, so that all New Zealanders earn a liveable wage and that those in need of support receive the assistance they require to live a decent life," says Mr. Ford.

The Alliance fully supports the SFWU in their fight for justice for support workers and disabled people and calls on all other political parties to do the same.

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