Wayne Mapp MP
National Party Industrial Relations Spokesman

13 September 2006

Strikes: Will Labour finally take note?

National’s Industrial Relations spokesman, Wayne Mapp, says he hopes the radiographers’strike will make Labour finally acknowledge the dangerous path its union-centric employment legislation is leading the country down.

“This latest industrial dispute has lead to 14 hospitals grinding to a near halt and the wellbeing of thousands of patients being put in jeopardy.

“Though this is a terrible situation for all concerned, I hope the risks associated with this strike will cause Labour to take notice.

“The radiographers’ strike is just the latest in a long line of industrial disputes since Labour made changes to the Employment Relations Act in 2004. Those changes have had a multimillion-dollar impact on the economy.

“And it’s certainly not good enough that lives are now being put at risk.

“National said these changes, born of sweetheart deals with their union funders, would cause problems, and they have.

“Neither Labour nor the union leaders have any concern for the impact of such industrial action on families and economies.”

In the year to March 2006 there were 66 work stoppages resulting in an estimated $5.1 million in lost wages and salaries. This compares with 32 stoppages in the previous year.

“This increasing strike action marks a return to the bad old days of union domination. Labour has reduced the freedom of non-union workers and employers, making it much more difficult to do business and access essential services,” says Dr Mapp.

“In Government, National will remove the union preference and the ‘us v them’mentality it has brought to employment law.”

ENDS

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