Wayne Mapp - National Party Industrial Relations spokesman

1 March 2005

Unions should target Labour

National's Industrial Relations spokesman, Wayne Mapp, says the EPMU should be targeting Labour over pay rates.

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union is planning stop-work meetings starting this Thursday. It has the green light from influential Labour leaders.

"The union movement has declared war on National, yet it is their allies and regular sponsors - the tax-and-spend Labour Government - which is denying their members a fair share," says Dr Mapp.

"The movement's energy would be better spent targeting Helen Clark and finding out if she still has confidence in her Party President, who says he supports across-the-board pay rises.

"This is quite at odds with Helen Clark's opinion that Labour's Working for Families package will help with wage claims. But Working for Families does not target workers - under Labour, beneficiaries will also receive a pay rise by way of an additional handout."

Dr Mapp says most New Zealanders would rather have some of their own money back through a tax cut.

"If Labour got off its ideological high-horse and did something to address the massive tax burden, every worker would have more money in their pocket and employers would have more room to give workers wage increases if company tax was cut."

ENDS

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