Government Inaction May Lock In High Unemployment

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union is warning record unemployment levels may become the norm if the Government continues to do nothing.

The call follows news of the highest unemployment levels since 1992 and an absence of any signs employment is likely to pick up.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little says the new figures will come as no surprise.

“We’ve seen massive job shedding and very little new hiring in the last year and we know that it’s not picking up on the ground despite the recession technically being over.

“The Government knows this as well and it’s criminal they have done nothing to create jobs or protect workers despite being forewarned about this over a year ago.

“If we don’t see some serious new initiatives in the near future it’s highly likely that this level of unemployment will become structural and that would be a disaster for working Kiwis and for New Zealand’s economy.

“If this level of unemployment is allowed to be locked in we will face another lost decade of growth as we did in the nineties.

“We can only hope that Mr Key and his government realise the clock is ticking and do something before it is too late.”

The EPMU is New Zealand’s largest private sector union, representing 45,000 members across eleven industries.

ENDS

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