Editorial: Alasdair Thompson and women's 'sick problems'

The sequel Cars 2 has started at the movies, as many excited youngsters and equally excited mums and dads are probably aware.
But it's Jurassic Park 4: Women's 'Sick Problems' that has everyone talking - and it's not Hollywood's dinosaurs at the centre of discussion, it's one of our own.
If you didn't know who Alasdair Thompson was a few days ago you should by now.
The Employers and Manufacturers Association boss has caused outrage in Rotorua and across the country by suggesting once-a-month "sick problems" were a factor that affected women's productivity.
He proceeded to dig his hole even deeper with a fiery TV interview with Campbell Live's Mahingarangi Forbes and a radio interview in which he said while many women suffer terribly, most take tablets while others take two or three days off a month.
Mr Thompson's wife, Joan, meanwhile, said she had never taken sick leave for menstruation, but their daughter was "totally different". I bet Thompson jnr is stoked about that admission, Mum.
As a boss to several female employees over many years, I've got to say I'm not sure where Alasdair Thompson's coming from. Some people take more sick leave than others, as in any workplace, but it doesn't seem to be drawn along any gender lines. The same can be said for those who prefer to fight through pain and illness and rightly or wrongly try to stick it out at work.
With his comments Mr Thompson probably did more damage to workplace productivity in one day than he says"sick problems" do - as discussion boards, blogs and the Twittersphere went into hyperdrive in response. Interestingly, in an online poll of nearly 14,000 people, only 56 per cent said Mr Thompson should resign.
Late on Friday he saw the light and issued an "unreserved and unqualified" apology - but in this mass communication age of social media it seemed an awfully long time coming.
The more cynical among us will assume it was a last-ditch attempt to avoid being sacked at an EMA emergency board meeting on Monday.
Whatever happens, this issue, which has told us quite a lot about attitudes to women in the Kiwi workplace, is certain to have its own fascinating sequel.