The sixth annual CTU Mood of the Workforce survey shows working people are very worried about their incomes and rights under the new Government and fear the country becoming more economically and racially divided.
Figures from the survey, which gathered 2000 responses in less than a week, show that more than two-thirds of working people feel that new Government’s policies will make it harder to meet cost of living pressures. More than three quarters of respondents believe that the new Government’s policies will make it harder to secure a fair pay rise.
Many respondents voiced concerns that the current government does not represent their interests with some respondents raising fears that economic and racial division will increase as a consequence.
CTU President Richard Wagstaff says the results show working people are feeling insecure at work. “The feedback from this year’s survey is that many people are worried about the future of their jobs and well-being of their families.
“It’s clear the rushed and backwards looking repeal of employment legislation passed without consultation has signalled to working people that the Government does not care about their interests or the interests of most New Zealanders.
“These concerns are held across all age and gender cohorts in the results and are consistent across union members and non-union members.
“Both the survey responses and the comments indicate that many people feel they have fallen behind in the past year and that they expect this to get worse.
“Reading through the hundreds of comments it’s clear that people want real change in New Zealand’s political and economic direction toward increased fairness and investment in people and their futures. That’s something all parties, in government and opposition, need to listen to.”
The results of the survey are available here
The following is a selection of representative comments from the survey
