November 30, 2004

Work together for productivity, says union

Manufacturing workers today welcomed a report which said that future business success will depend on co-operation between workers and employers.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little said that the report, by the Government’s Workplace Productivity Working Group, wasn’t rocket science, but it was good to see these issues being publicly acknowledged at last.

The public debate on the law governing workplace relations is now over, and we need to focus on the real challenge of creating better businesses.

“We have to take what is in this report out of Wellington and put it into New Zealand workplaces,” he said.

“The years of increasing profit by slashing labour costs are over. Productivity is about all of us working smarter, with up-to-date technology and skills and training to match.

Mr Little repeated his call for a summit to talk about the future of manufacturing.

ENDS

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