Prime Minister Bill English has denied overstating the drug test issue as a reason for young New Zealanders failing to get work.
On Monday, he said employers were struggling to find suitable workers and one of the reasons, based on anecdotal evidence, was that young Kiwis sent to them were failing pre-employment drug tests.
At the time, Mr English was defending the Government's immigration policies.
Labour has hit out at what it calls "sweeping generalisations'' and the Council of Trade Unions says an Official Information Act request in 2016 revealed only 0.6% of people looking for work had drugs in their system.
RNZ reported only 466 people failed pre-employment drug tests in the past three years among the tens of thousands tested. Its figures showed that in 2015 there were 32,000 pre-employment drug tests.
Mr English said yesterday he was "certainly not'' overstating the issue.
"We are describing one factor among many that has been a hurdle for young people getting work,'' he said.
"Just go and ask the businesses - horticulture, forestry, factory work. They will tell you what the problems are. They are making the decisions, and we set a bit of store by that.
"If people are implying that somehow this doesn't happen, they should visit some workplaces.''
CTU president Richard Wagstaff said Mr English should show more respect for New Zealanders looking for work.
"By completely overstating the issue of drug use by people looking for work, the Prime Minister justifies the widening of immigration policies,'' he said.
"These 'alternative facts' the Prime Minister is using are destructive to the fabric of our society.''
Labour's Grant Robertson said Mr English admitted his comments were based on anecdotes rather than any evidence or hard facts.
"New Zealanders might get the impression that Bill English is the one on mind-altering drugs, given the facts about how National has let down workers and young people over the last eight years,'' he said.
Mr English said on Monday he was hearing two to three anecdotal reports a week of business owners hiring foreign workers because Kiwis were not able to pass required drug tests.
"Under workplace safety you can't have people on your premises under the influence of drugs and a lot of our younger people can't pass that test,'' he said.
