A free-trade agreement (FTA) with China puts thousands of manufacturing jobs and the future of the sector at risk, Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Ross Wilson says.
He told the Gateway to China trade summit in Auckland yesterday that it was important not to "talk up" potential gains while "talkingdown" the loss to manufacturing.
However, he said an FTA with China might open up big opportunities in primary production and processing.
"FTA enthusiasts may argue that if the benefits exceed the costs, then those who suffer as a consequence should be given transitional assistance or time to adjust. But that approach accepts that New Zealand does not have a serious future in general manufacturing."
The CTU represents 300,000 New Zealanders.
The country's manufacturing sector employs 292,600, compared with agriculture and forestry with 143,700 workers.
Mr Wilson said he also feared an FTA would drastically increase breaches of intellectual property rights.
In June, Interlock, a manufacturer of window and door locks, said it had to move part of its operation to China as a competitor there had copied one of its products. Interlock has since confirmed more than 300 jobs will be lost and the entire New Zealand plant will close.
A Canterbury manufacturer of saw blades has seen a Chinese manufacturer directly copy one of its blade designs. They even copied one batch number on to every saw blade rather than sequentially numbering the batches, Mr Wilson said.
Unions were also concerned that the Government should include labour rights for Chinese workers in the FTA.
"We [New Zealand] are already taking advantage of cheap imports produced in labour conditions that breach core international labour conventions."
