Meeting on EMA chief's job cancelled

A Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) board meeting to consider the fate of chief executive Alasdair Thompson following his comments linking women's periods to productivity has been cancelled.
The association had been scheduled to hold a special meeting today to discuss Mr Thompson's controversial remarks during a Newstalk ZB interview last week and calls for his resignation.
Mr Thompson said that women were paid less because they took sick days when they had their period.
A spokesman said the meeting had been cancelled to give the EMA board ``a reasonable time frame'' to consider the issue.
The board would likely be putting out a statement ``within the week'', he said.
Two apologies from him have failed to quell the furore, particularly as he was unable to back up his claims with facts.
Last year, women in the public service had just 1.6 more sick days than men, according to an Official Information Act request made by the Public Service Association.