Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce chief Peter Townsend says manufacturers are being hit twice by the strong dollar. Not only are they unable to make a profit with their exports because the exchange rate eliminated margins, but they are also competing in the domestic market against imports that are cheaper for New Zealand consumers. Townsend: "My prediction would be that we're in for a pretty rough spin in the productive sectors of our economy over the next six months."

Oram also says over the past few years New Zealand manufacturers have been investing in more sophisticated machinery and skilled staff rather than depending on a surplus of low-paid, low-skilled workers. The result could be that a lift in productivity is on the cards. Oram: "The upsurge in capital investment began in mid-2004, in part a response to a seriously tightening labour market and a high dollar that made imported machinery relatively cheap. It began to fade away in the second half of last year, but enough new investment has happened to suggest we will see a significant increase in productivity this year."

Source — New Zealand Herald, 24 January 2006, "Jobs lost as high dollar hits exporters" by Georgina Bond; The Press, 25 January 2006, "Cuts not our fault _ Govt" by Colin Espiner; Dominion Post, 27 January 2006, "Cullen admits jobless gaffe" by Vernon Small; Fairfax NZ, 25 January 2006, "Politicians trade blows over dollar and redundancies" by Marta Steeman; media release National Party John Key, 24 January 2006, "Another firm closes - more bad news for Govt"; Sunday Star Times, 5 February 2006, "Don't believe Dr Doom" by Rod Oram.

CORPORATE WELFARE OR SOCIAL INVESTMENT?

Source — Media release National Party Katherine Rich, 24 January 2006, "Taxpayer helped subsidise ailing beef jerky plant"; media release NZ government Jim Anderton, 25 January 2006, "National needs to do the maths"; National Business Review, 25 January 2006, "Rich goes toe-to-toe with Mallard, Anderton over Jack Links."

EVALUATION OF THE "JOBS MACHINE"

The "jobs machine" has drawn a lot of attention over the years, including claims it sidelined Maori businesses, that it focused too heavily on Auckland-based businesses and lacked a clear focus. In 2004, an auditor-general's report into schemes administered by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise was highly critical of the way it had handled millions of dollars in grants. It uncovered missing paperwork, loose controls on spending and breaches of Cabinet guidelines.

Source — Dominion Post, 4 February 2006, "`Jobs machine' under review" by Haydon Dewes.

HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE CAMPAIGN

The campaign is also joining forces with SuperSizeMyPay.com which is calling for the minimum wage to be raised to $12 per hour. Co-ordinator Simon Oostermann says a broad range of community groups are adding their voices to the call for all workers to be paid a liveable wage. Oostermann: "Community groups are joining the fast food workers' call for McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Starbucks and Pizza Hut, to take social responsibility for the welfare of their workers, their families and the wider community. As the biggest brands, these companies set the wage standards for the entire industry and are in a key position to play a major role in making poverty wages history in New Zealand."

Source — Media release Unite Union, 23 January 2006, "Panel Calls on Community to Make Poverty Wages History"; email from Ivan Sowry, 3 February 2006, "Action Alert! Social Security (Abolition of Age Discrimination) Amendment Bill - Urgent Action required"; media release Unite Union, 24 January 2006, "Bradford First MP to Donate to Low Paid Workers"; media release NZ Council of Trade Unions, 25 January 2006, "$12 min wage needed sooner rather than later".

BENEFIT NUMBERS STILL FALLING

Minister of Social Development and Employment David Benson-Pope says the decrease in the number of unemployment benefits has been a key driver behind the overall drop in beneficiary numbers. Over the last 12 months, the number of unemployment benefits being paid out dropped by 14,543 or 22%. Benson-Pope: "Since 1999 we've seen 110,000 fewer people in receipt of unemployment benefits — dropping from 161,000 in 1999 to just over 51,000 in December 2005. That's a drop of nearly 70%."

It's not just the Pakeha/European figures that have fallen. The number of Maori in receipt of an unemployment benefit has also dropped. There were 4,033 fewer Maori in receipt of an unemployment benefit over the year to December 2005. And since 2000 the number of Maori receiving the unemployment benefit declined from 44,378 to 18,655, a drop of 58%.

The number of Pacific people on the unemployment benefit dropped 18% last year. There were more than 12,000 Pacific people on unemployment benefits in 2000 and this has reduced to 4,075.

The Ministry figures also show that the number of people receiving the domestic purposes benefit has decreased 3% or 3,037 people over the year to 106,302.

Total number of benefits paid out.

Source: Ministry of Social Development

Source — Media release NZ Government David Benson-Pope, 1 February 2005, "Unemployment benefit numbers drop by 22% in 2005"; Media Release NZ government, 2 February 2006, "17.8 percent drop in Maori unemployment"; Fairfax NZ, 1 February 2006, "Beneficiary numbers down in past year " by NZPA; Newswire.co.nz, 4 Feb 2006 Big Drop In Pacific Unemployment.

WANANGA AXES BUILDING TRAINING

Te Wananga acting operations manager John Mote says the decision to close the pre-apprenticeship courses was partly financial but mostly because not enough people enrolled in them. Mote says young people preferred to join an apprenticeship programme and earn wages, rather than train for up to three years in order to gain the same skills. Mote: "We're certainly not abandoning the challenge of trades training. There's just been a change in the way young people want to train in the industry."

Source — Sunday Star Times, 29 January 2006, "Wananga up the financial creek _ but it still has paddles" by Tara Ross.

SKILLED MIGRANT CRITERIA SEEMS TO BE WORKING

The National Party calls the increased emphasis on job offers a positive move. Spokesperson Lockwood Smith says there had previously been too much weight placed on paper qualifications rather than employability. But Smith is yet to be convinced that the government has its skilled immigration policy right and says it will take time to see if the criteria are correct. Smith: "Instead of being a measure of employability, it could be a measure more of the desperation of employers."

Source — Media release, NZ government David Cunliffe, 2 February 2006, "Talented migrants targeted in selection process"; Dominion Post, 3 February 2006, "More migrants in skilled work" by Rebecca Palmer.

NEONATAL NURSING SHORTAGES

The New Zealand Medical Association warns, however, that recruiting specialists off-shore is a short-term and short sighted solution. Deputy chairperson Don Simmers says recruiting foreign-trained specialists will not remain an option for much longer because the shortage exists not only in New Zealand but throughout the world. Simmers: "New Zealand has relied for too much on that in the past but we are now going through a worldwide shortage of medical staff. We've really got to grow our own and to have a much more sustainable workforce."

Source — Dominion Post, 25 January 2006, "Understaffed neonatal units threatening baby safety" by Rebecca Quillian.

IT SKILLS SHORTAGE

Source — Media release, Unisys, 12 January, 2006, "Talent shortage becomes real business issues in 2006".

LINDA CLARK ON DAWN TO DUSK CHILDCARE

Clark says policy makers tend to frame the work/life balance issues as one that primarily entails more childcare. She says the real answer will only come from redefining work so that women can feel they are achieving and be perceived as achievers without having their kids "parked eternally elsewhere". Clark: "All last year I kept mulling over that nonsense Helen Clark said about getting women out working, and dawn-to-dusk childcare. That was so enraging. We were inundated on the programme with women who were furious about that. No one who has had their child in dawn-to-dusk childcare would ever recommend it for anybody. Everybody in the family suffers. Yes, we want to work and have our careers, but workplaces have yet to come to terms with what working and mothering means when they occur side by side."

Source — N Z Listener, 28 January 2006, "A New Morning" by Joanne Black.

OZ TACKLES WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION

Stone says working mothers are desperately needed to help overcome Australia's skills shortage. Stone, a mother of three who has always worked outside the home, says she is aware that the needs of working parents and these — including childcare — are her top priority. She says it's time for the government to look at bold policy options to solve the childcare crisis. Stone: "Childcare is intimately and integrally related to the capacity of people to re-enter the workforce, whether they be single parents or a couple."

Source — The Sun-Herald, 29 January 2006, Bold child-care policy needed to overcome skills shortage by Kerry-Anne Walsh.

OZ PROPOSALS TO BOOST TRADE TRAINING

Beazley also believes current Australian labour policy is too dependent on inviting in skilled migrants rather than training young Australians. He says since 1996 the government has accepted 270,000 skilled migrants but has turned away 300,000 Australians from TAFE training because there were insufficient training places.

Source — The Age, 30 January 2006 "Labor revives Whitlam-era policy to tackle skills shortage" by Misha Schubert.

ILO JOB STRATEGIES

Somavia advocates a shift in economic and social policies to put decent work at the centre of national and international development efforts. He says such steps would help lift tens of millions of people out of the poverty of unemployment.

The expansion of training and education, especially for young people, is another crucial step. The ILO estimates that young people age 15 - 24 make up about half — or 86 million — of the world's unemployed. Somavia: "If we can reduce the youth unemployment rate by just half, we will add at least $2.2 trillion to the global economy."

Source — Media release , 27 January 2006, UNILO, "Global jobs crisis threatens stability, UN labour agency chief warns leaders in Davos".