Raw logs will continue to be shipped overseas unprocessed unless there is serious attention paid by the government to the wood processing industry, a union for workers in the sector says.

As more sawmill job losses are confirmed, a union for wood processing workers is asking how many more mills will close before the Government admits there is a crisis.

Workers feeling the pinch from high living costs will welcome interest rates staying put, FIRST Union Finance Sector Secretary Andrew Casidy said today.

The government’s refusal to implement plans to tackle the high NZ dollar is stopping unemployment from coming down as quickly as it could, a union for workers in the productive sector said today.  Unemployment remains high, at 6.5 per cent, in today’s Household Labour Force Survey.