Wayne Mapp MP - National Party Industrial Relations Spokesman

6 April 2005

Tamihere gets it right on unions

John Tamihere was absolutely right in his comments about unions, says National’s Industrial Relations spokesman, Wayne Mapp.

In an interview in Investigate magazine Mr Tamihere said in reference to the Labour Party list: ‘…when you look at the List, the union movement have got four new members coming in, end of story. And so they’ve done extraordinarily well at reasserting themselves. They don’t deserve to have that level of influence’.

“Labour’s pro-union law change last year kicked off union militancy right around the country,” says Dr Mapp.

“We are looking at a winter of discontent. Strikes are breaking out all over the country.”

In the first week of April the following union strikes and work-to-rule actions have occurred:

- Auckland bus driver strike

- Middlemore security guards strike

- Glenfield’s Morgan Furniture strike

- Petone’s Colgate-Palmolive strike

- Lyttelton port unions work-to-rule action

“It is virtually a strike a day. The rate is accelerating,” says Dr Mapp.

“There were more strikes in the first week of April than in the previous two months combined. This all kicked off with the EPMU demand for a 5% wage rise across the board. “Metal workers are planning a massive strike this Friday. The EPMU campaign is a return to old-fashioned unionism, which treats all employers as villains. Thanks for telling it like it is, Mr Tamihere,” says Dr Mapp.

ENDS

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