May Day for workers - mayday call by business

The National Party says Kiwi workers should be extremely concerned that employers are starting to feel the heat from the Government's anti-business policies.

"On this May Day, the Government should be holding its head in shame as New Zealand's hard-working business community slides further into a mire of red tape," according to National Party Industrial Relations spokesman Roger Sowry.

"OSH Laws, the RMA, the Holidays Act, the Kyoto Protocol and now the energy crisis, Labour's eroding the country's long-term viability.

"It's pulling on the handbrake, at a time when the Government should be providing a climate that gives business enough certainty to employ more staff," says Mr Sowry.

"Business confidence has slumped and New Zealand's trade figures have been tracking down for the past 12 months.

"Workers have been forced to sit idle as the electricity crisis takes hold and increasing numbers of New Zealanders are now turning to welfare as a viable career option," Mr Sowry says.

"The Government's even abandoned its target to get New Zealand back into the top half of the OECD within a decade and our chances of winning a lucrative free trade deal with the us has evaporated thanks to Helen Clark.

"May Day 2003 should be no celebration for workers - their success and the growth of New Zealand business goes hand in hand," Mr Sowry says.

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