Crunch time for public service
Reality is hitting the public service, as the “potential workforce reduction” rhetoric turns to real numbers and real jobs.
While some public servants have already packed their bags, it is expected the crunch time will hit between the middle of this month and July.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Health’s 25% downsize proposal turned into numbers – 271 roles proposed to go, 137 new roles created – leaving a net reduction of 134.
Also yesterday, the numbers turned to jobs. The proposed restructure could see the end to the Suicide Prevention Office, its establishment one of the recommendations in the Government’s 2018 inquiry into mental health.
The Public Service Association labelled it as “cold-hearted and dangerous”, while the Ministry of Health was adamant suicide prevention remains a priority.
“The proposal is to integrate the dedicated suicide prevention expertise into the relevant functional groups within of the clinical, community and mental health directorate,” deputy directorgeneral of mental health Robyn Shearer said.
Shearer said the work of the team changed since the funding and contracts transitioned to Health NZ, and the ministry would “continue to monitor progress on suicide prevention as it has done”.
However, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey said the closure of the Suicide Prevention Office “has not been raised with me and I have spoken with the director-general of health to make my expectations clear that the office will remain open”.
A 50-page consultation document obtained by The Post, outlined proposals to reduce research spending, not offer pay rises to staff above a certain pay grade this year, and discussed voluntary redundancies for those who had jobs on the line.
It painted a stark picture, calling the size of the health ministry’s workforce, “unaffordable”, saying the ministry needed to be smaller, “and we need to be smarter about how we carry out our role”.
The document outlined two costsaving ideas from staff that would not be going ahead – a “reduction in Executive Governance Team/Senior Leadership Team salaries” and a reduction in hours for all staff. It said both ideas would be practically and legally difficult to implement.
Many of the jobs proposed to be disestablished were analysts and advisers, and while many of the new proposed positions were also advisers. Ssome of the new jobs included the roles of principal adviser – drug checking, chief adviser media, and manager (mental health and addiction regulation).
Labour’s public service spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said there were sizeable cuts proposed to health regulation, “which has the work done to do things like keep vapes out of the hands of young people and to make sure that our medicines and other health services are safe”.
Health Minister Shane Reti said he expected the ministry to treat staff with
dignity and respect during the process and for appropriate support to be provided.
Also yesterday, the Ministry of Social Development, which was also considering voluntary redundancies, made that a reality and opened up the process to staff.
It comes as the workforce reduction timelines are speeding up across the public service, as May’s Budget nears.
While there was no specific target, the MSD staff who are not “frontline” have until April 15 to apply for voluntary redundancies. MSD acknowledged following this, it was likely there would be more job cuts, “mainly within our national office in Wellington”.
For the health ministry, consultation ends on April 26, with decisions announced in June.
Meanwhile, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP), which is looking to slash its workforce by 40% and will be offering voluntary redundancies, finishes consultation today with final decisions made at the end of this month to be implemented in July.
The Ministry for the Environment, which is looking at cutting more jobs, is unsure how many roles may be affected until the Government finalises the Budget in May.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise, which has already seen 111 people leave, opened up its second round of voluntary redundancies last month, closing next week. Staff that spoke to The Post are expecting following this, more light will be shed on an additional restructure proposal, which impacts more branches within its Digital, Data and Insights Group, and proposes to disestablish a number of roles.