PSA wins legal fight to halt Ministry of Education restructure

Thursday, 18 July 2024

Fleur Fitzsimons, assistant secretary, Public Service Association reacts to the jobs cuts at Oranga Tamariki and Ministry of Education.

The Public Service Association has won its legal fight to halt a Ministry of Education restructure.

The education ministry planned to cut more than 700 jobs, in a restructure proposal the Public Service Association argued breached the workers’ employment contracts.

The association went to the Employment Relations Authority, arguing the ministry needed to approach layoffs on a case-by-base basis.

On Thursday, the union’s assistant secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, said they’d been successful - which meant the ministry’s cost cutting plan could have to go back to the drawing board.

Ahead of the coalition Government’s first Budget, the Ministry of Education was asked to find savings of 7.5% as part of a cost cutting drive.

Through layoff proposals announced in May, the ministry planned to disestablish about 755 roles. Almost one in five of its staff were impacted by the restructure.

Education and public sector unions argued the scale of these cuts would reduce children’s access to specialist support services, but Secretary for Education Iona Holsted insisted the cuts wouldn’t impact any school or child.

Fitzsimons said the Ministry of Education had a contractual duty to consult with and engage its employees in discussions and planning about how to meet the Government’s cost cutting directive. Instead of doing that, Fitzsimons said, the ministry had acted with haste and without dignity.

Public Service Association assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says the Ministry of Education breached its duty to employees with a massive restructure proposal announced in May.

She said the union and ministry would meet to work out a “case-by-case approach”.

“It will ensure a more dignified approach to any changes in the future. It also means that the ministry should reconsider its approach to matters including reopening voluntary redundancy and reducing its reliance on contractors,” she said.

Labour Party education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said the ERA decision was proof the Government hadn’t thought through the consequences of its cost cutting.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says cuts at the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki will help make sure front-line services are prioritised and wasteful spending is eliminated.

“The Government was moving too far too fast in its pursuit of putting people out of work to pay for unnecessary tax cuts,” she said.

She said many of the workers on the chopping block at the Ministry of Education were performing “essential” roles, and the Government should use this opportunity to reverse its decision.

A Ministry of Education spokesperson said it needed time to “consider the decision”.

“We have agreed that we will meet with the PSA once both parties have had a chance to properly understand the decision and next steps,” the spokesperson said.

Education Minister Erica Stanford was approached for comment.

The Ministry of Education could appeal to the Employment Court within 28 days.