Constant public statements from employer spokespeople and opposition politicians that workplaces are safe enough may have contributed to the worst work accident death toll for a decade the president of the Council of Trade Unions Ross Wilson told the Auckland Employers and Manufacturers Association Employment Relations Conference today.

"Census figures showing women's income lagging far behind men's show the need for an effective pay equity system in New Zealand," said Council of Trade Unions secretary Paul Goulter today.

"New Zealanders can feel very proud that we are once again recognised internationally as a country which respects union rights as human rights," Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

The urgent need for New Zealand law to ensure protections for some of our most vulnerable workers was highlighted at the International Labour Organisation Conference in Geneva yesterday.