Andrew Little is brushing off claims there is a conflict of interest between his two jobs.
The national secretary of the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union has recently become president of the Labour party and the Prime Minister thinks the two roles are incompatible.
John Key contends that the unionist risks being discredited because he may be seen as a mouthpiece for the Labour Party and not the union.
But Little says he is very clear about his responsibilities and it sounds like Key is trying to silence him.
Little says he is not the first person to be a union secretary as well as the president of the Labour Party and he is very clear about the two roles.
Little says the politics of the party is left to the parliamentary wing and his role as union secretary is making sure members' interests are properly advocated.
