Thousands of workers around the country have now attended health and safety training courses aimed at bringing down New Zealand's alarming toll of workplace death and injury, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

An Employment Court judgement has highlighted the need for urgent Government action to spell out legal rights and responsibilities around drug testing in the workplace, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

The opening of negotiations for a free trade agreement with China raises a raft of serious issues for New Zealand workers, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

For the first time in more than a decade all employees who have to work this Easter will be paid at least time and a half as well as get a day off in lieu, Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

The findings of a survey of chief executives' pay rates reveal a double standard in business leaders' criticism of the proposed new employment law, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

"International unions have begun a programme of support for the development of trade unions in Iraq," Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

Speaking on his return from a meeting of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions in Brussels, Ross Wilson said that an IFCTU mission to Iraq had met earlier this year with emerging trade unions, workers, and Governing Council representatives.

"Iraqi workers are determined to ensure that their fundamental rights are
respected and are starting to organise themselves into trade unions," he said

The ICFTU programme involved practical support for union organisation and action on social, economic, legal and institutional issues.

"The Iraqi people must have full control of the countrys substantial resources and its economic future, and the development of a strong and vibrant democratic trade union movement is of critical importance in ensuring that this occurs," Ross Wilson said.

The Council of Trade Unions and the Capital and Coast District Health Board will today sign a groundbreaking deal that aims to tackle skill shortages in the construction industry around the Wellington region.