August 15, 2007
Media Release

Fisher & Paykel closure demands urgent Government action

Fisher & Paykel’s plan to move its Auckland electronics plant to Thailand at the cost of 96 jobs confirms the crisis in New Zealand manufacturing and demands urgent Government action, says New Zealand’s largest manufacturing union.

Last week the Government established the Manufacturing Advisory Group, which is being co-chaired by the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union and Business NZ and will help develop policies to keep jobs in New Zealand and grow the country’s manufacturing sector.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little says while the advisory group is a good start, the Government needs to do more, and urgently.

“We’re now seeing a very serious and very desperate situation in manufacturing that will have flow-on effects for our economy and our society for years to come if something isn’t done now to stem the flow of plant closures.

“The Government needs to understand that the incentives from other countries to entice New Zealand manufacturers are significant, and we need to do more as a country to encourage investment in high-end manufacturing. A quarter of a million Kiwi workers and their families are relying on it.

“We’ll now be working with Fisher & Paykel to make sure members of ours who are affected by this decision can find other work within the company.”

The EPMU represents more than 2000 Fisher & Paykel workers nationwide.

ENDS

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