The Council of Trade Unions is calling on the incoming Government to re-jig their tax cut proposals to provide a more balanced package.

The Council of Trade Unions is welcoming initiatives announced today to give workers more security as the economy slows.

CTU president Helen Kelly said a job search allowance helps to deal with the immediate impact of job losses, and workers would value it.

The Council of Trade Unions has today has released a paper on the New Zealand economy.

“It is a paper for unions to discuss but is released as a contribution to the broader debate on what should be done to support workers, firms and communities during the global financial crisis which is starting to impact on the real economy,” CTU Economist Peter Conway said.

A major report from the OECD called Growing Unequal shows the importance of Governments taking a range of measures head-on to reduce inequality and poverty, says the Council of Trade Unions.

With the prospect of our economy staying in a recessionary state for a lot longer than initially thought, what are the implications for employment and wages? CTU economist Peter Conway spoke to ASB Business.

The Council of Trade Unions today has welcomed announcements by the Government on deposit protection as well as policy commitments from the Labour Party on infrastructure, apprenticeships and a new retraining allowance.
 

"The National Party tax policy does nothing to address New Zealand’s low wage problem and significantly discourages long term savings.  Axing KiwiSaver to pay for tax cuts is not a serious economic plan,” CTU Economist Peter Conway said.

September 2008

Comment

As the old union song Solidarity Forever goes, "they have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn". But now, as we witness a major meltdown in the financial system, it is trillions – not millions. And as unions have often observed, the titans of capitalism are always keen to see financial losses socialised while profits are privatised. And for these people, if there is a sticking point, it is that they want a bailout but not government equity (nationalisation) in the process.

This is a time to focus on the prudent use of debt, CTU president Helen Kelly said today in a column [19]

Council of Trade Unions Economist Peter Conway says that unions agree with Bill English when he states that the ‘the real wage gap’ is an issue that impacts on net migration to Australia.

“But it is the difference in real wages that matter - it is not just an issue about tax, infrastructure and productivity in the government sector as Bill English suggests,” Peter Conway said.