CTU Media Release
17 January 2008

Workers feel cost squeeze

“Higher food and petrol prices alongside a lift in mortgage interest rates mean that workers are feeling the cost pressures as we start the year”, said Peter Conway, CTU Economist.

The Consumer Price Index was updated today and showed a 1.2 percent rise in the December quarter, taking annual inflation to 3.2 percent.

Peter Conway said that workers and their families are in particular noticing the impact of higher grocery prices. The Food Price Index also released today showed a lift of 5.4 percent in food prices in 2007 with a 7.8 percent increase in grocery food prices, and meat and fish prices up by 6 percent. This is very tough on low income families.

Another major concern is the big lift in 2007 in petrol prices which rose by 16.9 percent over the year.

While incomes have been going up for some workers and there has been a lift in the minimum wage and income support through Working for Families, the higher cost of living will be a factor that unions take into consideration in wage bargaining this year.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions

Te Kauae Kaimahi

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi brings together over 350,000 New Zealand union members in 40 affiliated unions. We are the united voice for working people and their families in New Zealand.

CONTACT NEW ZEALAND COUNCIL OF TRADE UNIONS

• Website - union.org.nz/
• Phone - +64 4 385 1334
• YouTube
• Physical Address - Level 7, West Block, Education House, 178 Willis St, Wellington.

• Media Contact - georginam@nzctu.org.nz
• Facebook
• Twitter - @FairnessNZ
• Postal Address - PO Box 6645, Marion Square, Wellington 6141.

Gordon Campbell:
On Putting Profit Potential Ahead Of Human Potential

Does New Zealand – despite our claims to egalitarianism and everyone being equal before the law – treat the people engaged in tax evasion more leniently than the people who commit welfare fraud? Yes, we do.

Earlier research by Victoria University associate professor Lisa Marriott has shown that while both offences are of the same kind (financial crimes) and have the same victim (the government, and society) the two get treated very differently from a prosecution point of view...

This week, Marriott released the next stage of her research findings, which are entirely consistent with what went before. Apparently, the government agencies involved also treat tax offenders more leniently than they treat welfare offenders. More>>