'We've got to get going' - Union leader calls for faster start on infrastructure projects

A union leader is calling on the government to speed up major infrastructure projects to offset job losses in the construction sector.

Fletcher Building, New Zealand's largest construction company, yesterday announced it was cutting 1000 jobs in New Zealand and 500 in Australia, reducing its workforce by 10 percent.

It is the latest company to undertake significant cost-saving measures in the wake of Covid-19.

The Fletcher Building announcement came less than a week after the government laid out a recovery plan in the Budget that leans heavily on the construction of major infrastructure projects.