17 April 2002

Work stoppage figures released today prove the true impact the Employment Relations Act is having on workers, says National's Labour and Industrial Relations spokesman, Simon Power.

"In its very first year, the ERA has managed to produce 42 work stoppages, double the total for the previous year. This amounts to a staggering $7.7 million loss of wages and has affected more than 30,000 employees with a loss of 54,440 work days.

"In comparison, the 2000 figures involved 2632 employees, 11,495 work days and $2.3 million worth of wages.

"In the latest quarterly figures (December 2001) work stoppages involved nearly 23,000 employees, compared with just 4000 in the September 2001 quarter.

"What these figures show is that rather than gaining under the ERA, workers are actually losing money. And this under a Government, which claims to be the government of the workers. It is clear that there is widespread unrest within the workplace and it's the workers who are suffering.

"Quite obviously no one benefits from this level of industrial dissatisfaction," says Mr Power.

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