MSD cuts 200 staff through voluntary redundancies
The Ministry of Social Development has cut its workforce by 200 through voluntary redundancies, and has signalled more job cuts are being considered.
The ministry yesterday confirmed that, of 404 staffers who applied for voluntary redundancy when it was offered last month, 200 redundancies had been accepted.
Though “frontline” jobs were not part of the redundancy offer, an exemption was made for 13 of the staff taking redundancy, who were considered frontline. The ministry’s total headcount at the end of March was 9248 staff.
“Even though it is a voluntary process, it’s not an easy one for the staff involved, some of whom have worked for MSD for many years,” said Nadine Kilmister, deputy chief executive for people and capability, in a statement.
“This is an unsettling time for our people, and we thank them for their dedication as we work through it.”
Kilmister said the ministry was looking at “further change” across the following teams: people and capability, organisational assurance and communication, transformation, and strategy and insights. “The leadership team is working through that now, taking into consideration voluntary redundancies, priority work, attrition rates and other factors,” Kilmister said.
Staff would be told of proposed changes in late May.
Kerry Davies, national secretary for the Public Service Association, a union for public sector workers, said reducing the ministry’s workforce during a cost-of-living crisis and as the population ages was a “reckless move”.
“Further downsizing of this important ministry does not make sense.
“These are the very people who make the system work effectively for the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who need the support that MSD provides.
“What the Government is forcing MSD and many other ministries to do, is to drain the oil out of the engine, and somehow still expect the machinery of government to run smoothly. This really is dumb stuff.”