Soper Lesley: Disabled Persons Employment Promotion Repeal Bill Minimum Wage Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Soper Lesley: Disabled Persons Employment Promotion Repeal Bill Minimum Wage Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Volume:638;Page:8210] 
LESLEY SOPER (Labour) 
: 
 I rise to speak on the third readings of the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion Repeal Bill and the Minimum Wage Amendment Bill and I am very proud to do so. For 47 years disabled people in this country have not had the same employment rights or protections as other New Zealanders. One of those workers is a family member of mine. She deserves a fair go as do all her fellow disabled workers. Disabled people need to be heard and they need to have what they are saying acted on. They have told the Labour-led Government that they want a fully inclusive society where they are accorded the same opportunities as other New Zealanders. That means participating in training and employment and receiving fair remuneration for work. 
It is a nonsense for the member on the other side to tell us inaccurately that the numbers in sheltered workshops have reduced from 4000 to 1000. He knows that the difference in those numbers represents the numbers who are not actual employees in those workshops. The fact of the matter is that the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion Act 1960—a Victorian-attitude piece of legislation to people with disabilities—does not allow for employment fairness. It treats people—workers whom we respect—unfairly by giving sheltered workshops a blanket exemption from minimum wage and holiday provisions for their workers. In my own area there is a sheltered workshop and yes there have been some concerns that the move to paying the minimum wage and proper holiday entitlements will force some sheltered workshops to close. The intention of the repeal is not to close sheltered workshops; it never has been. Yes the legislation will mean some changes for sheltered workshops and yes those sheltered workshop providers will need to look at the financial aspects of their operations. But the legislation does not mean that sheltered workshops will be left to close down and it does not mean that people will be sent home with nothing meaningful to do. 
The repeal simply means that there will be fairness. Sheltered workshops will have to pay everyone they employ at least the minimum wage—everyone they employ unless individual workers have an exemption. There are strict criteria around those exemptions. The legislation will mean that all people who work in sheltered workshops will have access to the fairness that all of us as workers expect—to holiday and sick leave entitlements and to a decent pay rate. Those are all the other conditions that every other New Zealand worker takes for granted. By repealing the Act disabled New Zealanders will finally be valued for what they can do rather than be defined by the place they work in and by their disability. 
The Act we are intending to repeal today as I said is a Victorian piece of legislation. It demonstrates Victorian attitudes to workers who have earned respect by many many years of their work. It is out of step with New Zealand and international human rights law. There has been very extensive consultation with disabled people and their families and with service providers over the proposal. 
The passing of this legislation will be an occasion of joy to the disabilities community. I am very proud to take part in that and yes it may be that some providers will ultimately decide to move out of sheltered work. It is not the intention of the repeal to cause that but some providers may make that choice. Should a provider choose to move out of sheltered work then the Ministry for Social Development and Employment will work with that provider and its clients and employees to ensure that people with disabilities continue to have fair and open options as every other worker in this country has. 
The passing of this legislation is about setting in place a better future for disabled people. It means that we can say there will be the continuation of sheltered workshop providers being able to offer both community participation activities and employment. They will have to meet all employment obligations for any individuals they employ—and that is fair and right. Those obligations include the standard employment conditions and entitlements that we all expect. This legislation is very a good thing; I am proud to be speaking as part of its passing into law. Thank you.