19 April 2005

Workers on Board for Profit and Productivity

Involving workers and their unions in an industry can make it more competitive, productive and profitable, according to a new study.

The study The Food and Beverage Sector: A Trade Union Perspective was carried out by researchers at the Centre for Labour and Trade Union Studies at the University of Waikato.

“The research confirms that high performance workplaces need to involve all stakeholders – including workers and their unions,” said Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont. “You can’t have a smart enterprise without worker engagement.”

Carol Beaumont is a member of the recently established Food and Beverage Taskforce.

The report says that worker involvement, through their unions, adds social and economic value in terms of industry best-practice, supporting industry strategies, and improving productivity.

“Unions are pushing for worker involvement in industries to help to build a high value, high skill, high quality economy which values its workforce and can compete in the global market,” Carol Beaumont said.

ENDS

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