October 24, 2007

National still has no answer on wages - EPMU

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union says National's call for extensive tax cuts is a hollow call from a party that still has no answer on improving wages and whose real plan is to attack work rights if it ever leads a government.

National's latest call for tax cuts comes off the back of figures produced by the party which suggest workers might be better off under National.

But EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little says tax cuts are not an incomes policy, and it's time National came clean on how it plans to lift wages.

"Working families will see through the National Party's desperate attempts to present itself as the champion of working people, given that last time they led a government wages went backwards and all they have to promise next time is abolishing basic work rights.

"The reality is that those who bargain collectively get the most regular pay increases, but National has said it wants to reduce workers' ability to do so. How does this square with their supposed concern for working people?

"The fact remains that Australian workers are paid 30% more than New Zealanders and no amount of tax cuts will close that gap."

Little has also challenged the credibility of figures released by the party that suggest "Joanna Average" would be better off under National.

"National's figures are based on a worker on the average fulltime wage, but this includes those on incomes of hundreds of thousands and in some cases millions of dollars. The median wage is a much better measure because it cuts out the distorting effects of those on very high or very low incomes.

"Choosing to restrict the figures to those on fulltime wages is also highly questionable, given the number of New Zealanders in part-time or casual employment, and they've distorted it further by leaving tax credits for KiwiSaver and Working for Families out of the equation."

Figures on median income obtained by the EPMU suggest workers are significantly better off under Labour, even after tax and inflation are taken into account.

ENDS

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