Economy

The New Zealand youth union movement, Stand Up, is calling on the Government to reinstate funding for the recently axed youth unemployment initiative, Community Max, to assist young New Zealanders who are currently out of work and education.

“The untimely dropping of Community Max except in targeted regions and the outlook for construction jobs highlight once again that not enough is being done to support employment”, said Peter Conway, CTU Secretary. 

The Government is conveniently playing with numbers in its statement that after tax the average weekly wage only increased 3 per cent between 1999 and 2008, said the CTU today. Its tax calculations do not include the Working for Families tax rebates which were introduced over that period and made a significant difference to poverty and inequality of families with jobs.

The CTU says that it is timely to have an inquiry into savings.

Peter Conway, CTU Secretary, says “the CTU has not made a firm decision in favour of compulsory savings but we are discussing a 10% savings option”.

This option would involve:

The Government’s announcement that it will force all government agencies to consider PPPs for projects over $25 million provides little evidence of the benefits it claims nor the risks it is entering into, said the CTU today. Neither does it state the rules for making these decisions.

The youth sector of the Council of Trade Unions, Stand Up, believes the latest unemployment statistics released today paint the picture of a Government failing to create the right opportunities for young New Zealanders.
 
Stand Up National Convener James Sleep says the Government is all talk and no action.
 

Unemployment has jumped significantly according to the latest release from Statistics NZ who describe the labour market as ‘volatile’. The figure of 6.8% shows that the recession is not over for many. There are 159,000 unemployed, or 255,700 jobless.

The CTU says that there is room for cautious optimism for wage levels, but many people are still not receiving any increases. “It is important for the economy that wage and salary earners have sensible wage increases. Otherwise there is a risk that lack of spending power will continue to drag the economy back into recession,” said CTU Economist and Policy Director Bill Rosenberg.

The CTU has repeated its call for the Reserve Bank to hold interest rates.

The youth union movement of the Council of Trade Unions, Stand Up, welcomes the report released by the Human Rights Commission today calling for increased investment to help prepare young people for work.