An unrelenting focus on jobs

9 comments on “An unrelenting focus on jobs ”

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1. John Dalley 1

   3 February 2012 at 11:01 am

   Say’s it all really.
2. Fisiani 2

   3 February 2012 at 11:24 am

   Correct. Save the congratulations till 2014.
   http://www.national.org.nz/priorities2012.aspx
   • Blighty 2.1

     3 February 2012 at 2:07 pm

     Fisiani, 3rd February 2015
     OK, so National didn’t meet its promises on jobs, again. Just wait until 2017!

     Oh, wait, you kicked National out of office for incompetence….
   • Georgecom 2.2

     3 February 2012 at 10:57 pm

     Whats so special about that ‘speech’. Key still recycling most of his 2008 speak without having delivered. Still going on about a ‘brighter future’, whilst the present and the 3 years past has been his failure to deliver.

     An ‘unrelenting focus on jobs’? A ‘rolling maul’ of jobs and growth creation initiatives?

     Or reality, a ‘rolling maul’ of job destruction initiatives.
     http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/job-losses-furniture-maker-4710819

     I guess we’ll have to wait for the re-election of a left government to deliver the Brighter Future.
3. Ianupnorth 3

   3 February 2012 at 1:13 pm

   Meanwhile, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10783162

   New Zealand recorded its biggest-ever net loss of migrants to Australia in 2011, underlining the appeal of life across the Tasman, where wages are higher, jobs more plentiful and living standards are superior.
4. randal 4

   3 February 2012 at 1:38 pm

   economic growth comes from productivity or introduction of new enterprises and a large residual. i.e. large labour forces that can transfer from a low wage position to a high wage position.
   new zealand is obviously efficient otherwise we would not be selling our goods in the world.
   the government is trying to increase “EFFICIENCY” by casualising workforces and driving down wages but this is only a shot term expedient.
   by the time the country has emptied out and costs have been cut to the bone there wont be much left for anyone except the final price takers at the end of the chain.
   the government must show that is not just flapping its gums and outline some plans for real growth instead of just slicing up the pie for the benefit of its friends.
5. rosy 5

   3 February 2012 at 8:47 pm

   Odds on that if there is an unrelenting focus will be on unpaid work placements.

   The high street book store Waterstones has pulled out of a government scheme that employed unpaid jobseekers in its stores after a Guardian investigation uncovered the practice at one of its outlets.

   Nearly a dozen other high street chains have been taking on unemployed workers for weeks without pay as part of the scheme…

   In his autumn statement in November, the chancellor, George Osborne, announced that the number of eight-week work experience placements would be massively extended to 250,000 places over three years to be funded from the £940m youth contract…

   A full-time employee at one Holland and Barrett store, who did not want to be identified, said they believed the placements were starting to replace paid work.

   “We have had a number of placements in our store and have noticed that the hours for part-time staff have been reduced. Staff are upset because we are all struggling to make ends meet,” the employee said.

   “The real benefactors of this scheme are the companies who receive millions of pounds worth of labour absolutely free of charge and the losers are the jobseekers who see potential jobs being filled by workfare placements for months at a time and the loyal part-timers who find their regular overtime hours savagely cut.”

   A couple of weeks work experience is one thing – but extended placements is something else altogether. With this and the more professional ‘intern’ schemes I can’t see why and employer would ever actually have to hire a young person.
6. foreign waka 6

   6 February 2012 at 10:32 am

   None of the politician or economist want to tell the people that there is no such thing as unlimited growth. Resources are starting to run out. Peak oil is just one, water will be next, so is arable land. These are the basics any society needs to survive and one can guess what the backlash will be once the impact is felt in the day to day life of people. We need to reduce waste, if possible to next to zero. This would be an excellent start to utilize all the resources to the max – recycling would create work. Using water in different ways, using alternative power sources – what is wrong with solar panels. Production and installation, maintenance would create work. These could be introduces in the same way as insulation for homes. Some start is needed, why not with these?
   • Colonial Viper 6.1

     6 February 2012 at 10:41 am

     Yep. Its like a bad dysfunctional relationship. As long as you keep receiving gifts, trinkets and perks you turn a blind eye on how they are obtained or when they might run out.

     The middle class and upper middle class (approx the top quintile of the population by income) want to be lied to, want to be told that their unsustainable lifestyles and consumption is sustainable, and will vote in politicians who will lie the best to give them that reassurance.

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