Wilkinson Kate: Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill — First Reading 
Wilkinson Kate: Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:676;Page:21471] 
Hon KATE WILKINSON (Minister of Labour) 
 on behalf of the Minister of Health: I move  
That the Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill be considered by the Health Committee that the committee report finally to the House on or before 3 October 2011 and that the committee have authority to meet tomorrow and at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions and during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House despite Standing Orders 187 and 190(1)(b) and (c). 
The bill resolves a court dispute that dates from 2007 and addresses recent decisions made by the Court of Appeal and the Employment Court in relation to IDEA Services Ltd and Phillip William Dickson. The bill sets in place a responsible and sustainable framework to remedy the sleepovers issue between Crown-funded employers and their employees. Specifically the bill will implement a settlement agreement between the Crown IDEA Services Ltd Timata Hou Ltd and the Service and Food Workers Union for the payment of wages to their employees who are employed to sleep overnight at their workplace whilst on duty. The settlement agreement includes the payment of back-pay for certain sleepovers and the staged progression of payments for sleepovers towards the hourly rate under the Minimum Wage Act 1983. 
The Crown has negotiated this settlement in good faith with employers and employee representatives and I acknowledge all parties involved. It is a fair settlement and one that balances the interests of employers employees and the Government. For the Government it ensures that services continue to be delivered to this vulnerable group of people and it allows the effective management of fiscal risk. For employees it provides for significant back wages to be paid to those who are eligible and for a graduated movement to the minimum wage for sleepovers. For employers it enables them to continue operating while also requiring them to contribute to the back wages that are payable. 
In addition to implementing the settlement between the Crown IDEA Services Ltd Timata Hou Ltd and the Service and Food Workers Union the bill also establishes a framework for the settlement of other sleepovers for other health and disability employers funded through Vote Health and potentially for other employers funded by the Crown. This will be done through an Order in Council mechanism. The Government is committing $27.5 million to assist Crown-funded employers in the health and disability sector to settle valid back-wage claims and up to $90 million over 3 years to support employers to phase in the minimum wage. This will enable vital services to continue to be delivered in an affordable manner whilst securing the phasing in of the minimum wage for employees. Under the bill there are strong incentives for health and disability - funded employers to reach a settlement because they will become eligible for contributory funding from the Crown to reduce backdated liabilities and to support the phasing in of the minimum wage. Eligible employees stand to gain access to back wages that the employer may not otherwise have been able to fund and they will enjoy more certain access to higher future wages. 
This bill is a priority for this Government. It is important legislation that will ensure that some of the most vulnerable people continue to receive quality care in our community. The bill has been consulted on within the sector and has the support of the parties to the agreement. Passing the bill before the House rises will mean that eligible IDEA Services employees will be able to receive their back-pay before Christmas. I am pleased to be able to present this bill here today and I commend it to the House.