'Logistics' kept CTU chief out

The leader of New Zealand's union movement is not barred from China and is free to reapply to enter, Foreign Minister Phil Goff said in Parliament yesterday.

Council of Trade Union President Ross Wilson's visa to attend an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) seminar in Beijing next week was cancelled earlier this week.

Other union leaders said the Chinese Government did not want scrutiny of their labour standards and it boded badly for New Zealand's relationship with China.

The issue is politically sensitive because New Zealand has begun free trade talks with China in which issues such as working conditions and environmental standards are likely to cause tensions.

Mr Goff played down the visa cancellation, saying Mr Wilson was only one of many people whose visas were cancelled because of logistical problems organising the conference, and that he had not been barred.

"Mr Wilson would be welcome to apply for another visa should he wish to go to China for any other reason," Mr Goff said.

The seminar on socially responsible investment was being rescheduled and all the issues that people thought had worried the Chinese would still be on the agenda then, he said.

The postponed seminar was to include union leaders from 20 countries, representatives of 25 Governments, and foreign investors to discuss raising Chinese labour standards.

Mr Goff said New Zealand would continue to "promote" labour and environmental standards in all trade talks it was involved in.

Green co-leader Rod Donald asked whether Mr Wilson and other New Zealand unionists would be allowed to speak to their colleagues in China.

Mr Goff said New Zealand had different laws from China, including the right to free association, which the Chinese would be encouraged to adopt.

A trade deal with China would benefit New Zealand to the tune of up to $400 million a year for 20 years creating tens of thousands of jobs, Mr Goff told Parliament.

Mr Donald asked why New Zealand was in talks with China, which had a poor record in human rights.

Mr Goff said if New Zealand stopped trading with countries that it did not entirely agree with, New Zealand living standards would suffer.

- NZPA