Bosses on both sides of the Tasman could be underestimating worker discontent in the recession, new research suggests.

Telecom's board chairman says CEO Paul Reynolds deserves his $5m salary package, which was labelled "shameless greed" by a union head today.

The EPMU hits out at Telecom's decision to pay CEO Paul Reynolds his full performance bonus, despite the company suffering a 43.9 per cent drop in profits.

Telecom will pay chief executive Paul Reynolds his full performance bonus despite a fall in profits.

Staff were responsible for 30 per cent of fraud cases in the 18 months to June, the "fraud barometer" of financial adviser KPMG reveals.

The service industry has shown its first sign of expansion since March last year.

The primary production region of Gisborne is "feeling the pain" of the recession with another employer slashing staff numbers by half.

Antipodean working holiday makers should be encouraged to spend longer in the UK so the nation can benefit from their talents, a British think tank says.

The Govt appears to accept it cannot deny the benefit to young people who refuse work or training until there are enough training places available.

Some 42 per cent of white-collar employers froze salaries in the past six months, research shows.