The Unionist this week covers the confusion surrounding the National Party's stance on KiwiSaver, the call from the public service union for a reality check on tax cuts and social spending, proposed new work rights covering meal and breastfeeding breaks and climate change.

Increased provisions [10] for meal and refreshment and breastfeeding breaks would continue to improve the rights at work for Kiwi workers, the Council of Trade Unions told a select committee today.

The Council of Trade Unions is calling on industry to be more constructive on climate change issues.

An earlier than usual Unionist this week reports on the government budget, the bank workers' union's call for ANZ National to come clean, more on the meat industry and a guest review of the recent Manawatu May Day Cup.

“Supporting workers to improve their skills in language, literacy and numeracy is critical to building the high wage, high skill economy that everyone wants, and the budget’s significant allocation of $168 million over four years to roll out the Skills Strategy is a big vote of confidence for workplace learning,” CTU secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

“Workers are feeling the pinch with high food prices, rising petrol costs and high rents and mortgage payments, and tax cuts announced today, targeted at low and middle income earners, will clearly be welcome for many workers,” Council of Trade Unions vice president Richard Wagstaff said today. 

“People doing contract work for less than the minimum wage deserve the full wage protections afforded to other workers," Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont said tonight.

The Council of Trade Unions governing body met today and were formally advised of secretary Carol Beaumont’s selection as the Labour candidate for Maungakiekie in Auckland at this year’s election.

A change is as good as a holiday – which is what it could cost you if you are not careful!

The Council of Trade Unions has called for an active approach to finding jobs for meat workers being made redundant, following a further announcement today by PPCS, this time in relation to their Burnside site in Dunedin.

The Council of Trade Unions has welcomed a Green Party pre budget announcement today of $50 million to go towards insulation of state housing.

“There are so many reasons why investing in healthy and warm homes is beneficial to low income families in state houses,” CTU vice president Maori Sharon Clair said. 

“The meat processing industry owes it to its workforce to get back to the table on discussions for a meat industry merger,” CTU secretary said today, following redundancy announcements by PPCS at its Oringi plant.

“The CTU endorses the recent vote by Meat Workers Union delegates in support of the proposal for a new entity to control meat procurement and marketing.”

The Council of Trade Unions says that rises in workers’ wages are welcome, but they are not being felt universally and they need to keep on rising.  The Unionist this week also reports on efforts to support Burma, the rail buy back, two festivals on right now and a view from across the ditch.

The President of the CTU Helen Kelly and the Director of the New Zealand Office of the National Council for the Union of Burma, Naing Ko Ko today jointly called on New Zealanders to give generously to Burma cyclone relief.

The Council of Trade Unions says that rises in workers’ wages are welcome, but they are not being felt universally and they need to keep on rising.

Lifting the nation's skills tops the agenda of this week's issue of The Unionist, as well as a new report on child poverty, May Day and the Emissions Trading Scheme.