April 24, 2013

Government should Buy Kiwi Made

The Government’s new procurement guidelines are a missed opportunity to support New Zealand manufacturing, says the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union.

The new guidelines help to simplify the tender process and require Government contracts to consider the ‘whole of life’ value of large contracts, but fail to require any preference or support for New Zealand-made goods and services.

EPMU director of organising Rachel Mackintosh says the guidelines are a missed opportunity to support Kiwi jobs.

“While there are some small steps in the right direction, the fact is these new guidelines will do nothing to address the crisis in our manufacturing sector or to support Kiwi jobs.

“Government agencies spending public money should be looking at the wider public interest, including the impact their choice of supplier will have on New Zealand industry, our skill base and on jobs.

“The case of the Hillside workshops shows it makes no sense to support short-term savings on an overseas contract if it means destroying a viable local industry and throwing large numbers of skilled workers onto the dole queue.

“The governments of Australia and the United States recognise the importance of good procurement policies as part of a strategy for manufacturing and jobs. It’s time ours did too.”

In the last year New Zealand’s manufacturing sector has lost 17,000 jobs.

ENDS

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