CTU Media Release
30 January 2009

Unions want action to head off job losses

Unions are developing proposals to head off job losses as the global financial crisis starts to impact seriously on the New Zealand economy. Workers did not create this crisis – but they are paying for it worldwide.

Helen Kelly, CTU President, says that the CTU has been discussing proposals with affiliate unions and in the last week met with Business NZ and also Mark Weldon to exchange possible proposals for the Jobs Summit.

The CTU published a set of proposals in October 2008 called Short Term Stimulus for Long Term Gain and it is now urgent to get some concrete action.

Helen Kelly said that the CTU is focussing on what can be done to stimulate the economy generally, what can be done to help employers hold on to workers and then how workers can be supported if they are laid off.

There are many suggestions such as investing in home insulation targeted at areas of greatest housing and employment need, major job creation programmes on environmental and social projects, a new skills fund so there is investment in people as well as physical infrastructure, expansion of productivity initiatives, new training subsidies so that workers could stay at work and do more training rather than be laid off, job search and retraining allowances, and changes to government procurement to ensure New Zealand firms benefit.

Helen Kelly said that “it is a very worrying time for workers and although it is understandable that economists will make predictions about how high unemployment might go, what we really need to do is focus on what can be done”.

ENDS

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