Christopher Luxon Is Out Of Touch
“Christopher Luxon and National
will take New Zealand backwards and working people will be
the first to feel the pain,” said NZCTU President Richard
Wagstaff. “The buck stops with Christopher Luxon.
He’s the leader, these are his policies. People need to
take notice of that. “We are running a strong,
evidence-based campaign which sets out why Christopher Luxon
and National are out of touch with what matters to the lives
of working people - and out of touch with the challenges New
Zealand faces. “It’s not just us. A Newshub poll
in May found nearly half of New Zealanders thought he was
out of touch.[1] “Anyone
who thinks the answer is a $10 per week tax cut for someone
on the minimum wage, and savage cuts to public services, has
to be seriously out of touch.” The NZCTU said the
campaign would focus on the clear evidence of what National
is promising: - Fair Pay Agreements would be abolished
– these provide minimum protections for workers and
prevent the race to the bottom, by cutting the wages of the
most vulnerable workers. - 90-day trials for workers
would be reinstated – there is no evidence these help
businesses hire workers. In fact, it is the opposite, it
will be easier to lay off workers for no reason.[2] -
Minimum wage rises would be restrained – National promises
to raise the minimum wage every year, but we know
National’s track record is poor. Under the current
government minimum wages rises have increased the
fortnightly income of those workers by $556 since
2017. - Tax breaks for landlords and speculators would
make a comeback – these fuel the property market and
simply enrich property investors, making it harder to buy a
first home and pushing up rents. - Public transport
costs for many low-paid workers would rise, along with
prescription charges. - Welfare payments would be
pegged to CPI inflation, meaning that many of the
lowest-income New Zealanders will fall further
behind. - The public service would be gutted –
National would cut $8.5 billion of spending and savage
frontline services up and down the country. Services working
people depend on, and jobs that employ union
members. - Climate Emergency Response Fund would be
axed - $2.4 billion dollars committed to reducing our
climate emissions to fund National’s landlord tax breaks.
This will undermine New Zealand’s ability to tackle our
climate crisis. “National’s plan under Christopher
Luxon is short-sighted, it is not good economic
management,” said Wagstaff. “October’s election
is the most significant election for working people in a
generation. It’s essential that going into this election,
people understand what is at risk for not just working
people, but all New Zealanders.” [2]
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2863379/MotuExecSummary.pdf ENDS Contact The
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions has launched its 2023
election campaign focused on why a National-led government
will leave working people worse
off.
[1]
Newshub-Reid
Research poll results: Nearly half of New Zealanders believe
Christopher Luxon is out of touch | Newshub
Richard
Wagstaff
027 277
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