Inside MBIE’s proposed job cuts: The webinar, and the 100-page document
Saturday, 23 March 2024
Staff at MBIE will spend the weekend coming to grips with a 100-page document that sets out how they may lose their job. Anna Whyte reports.
They expected a restructure. They didn’t expect the knife to cut so deep.
On Thursday morning, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) staff first found out from managers they would have a meeting about a proposed restructure that day. They also learned the scope of the proposals that morning.
Branches met to discuss the proposed cuts at a webinar in the afternoon with MBIE’s general manager of data, insights, and intelligence Jacqui Ellis - a meeting that a staffer affected by the proposed restructure told The Post left their division in total shock.
There had already been a round of voluntary redundancies opened to certain areas, with 111 people ready to say goodbye at the end of this month.
Inside the meeting, the staff member said Ellis “couldn’t even answer basic questions like, how many jobs would be lost”.
According to the worker, staff were presented with a proposal to restructure an evidence and insights unit, comprised of about 70 staff. They say the work within the team is relied on by ministers and for the development of policies, including modelling and forecasting. Some new roles will be offered, if they want to stay in their domain rather than going into a different unit. They said MBIE proposed to outsource all research activity from evidence and insights.
“There was an expectation of a restructure, but we weren’t expecting to be told that our only value to the Government is hiring contractors and downloading public files off Stats NZ to forward them on,” they said.
“For a Government that is saying that they want to cut down on contractor use, it is insane to be cutting back on in-house staff who do work that the Government relies on for basic things.”
They said it would have “a great intangible cost to the people of this country, as there will be no-one left in MBIE with statistical and analytical skills providing solid evidence-based analysis to policymakers and ministers, and who are able to question assumptions and push back on dangerous or badly designed policy”.
By 4pm that day staff were given a hefty consultation document, more than 100 pages, to understand the proposal.
The proposed restructure and second round of voluntary redundancies at MBIE ended a chaotic day in the public service on Thursday. Public servants were left reeling after hundreds of jobs were proposed to go at the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry of Health. Question marks hang over many more jobs across the entire public service sector.
In addition to Thursday’s announcement of re-opening voluntary redundancies, and opening up consultation for changing its Digital, Data and Insights (DDI) Group and the Employment Services branch, MBIE has been “systematically” disestablishing vacant positions and has a pause on external recruitment.
MBIE deputy secretary, corporate services, Richard Griffiths, said the proposed changes would look to “strengthen core functions, streamline processes, ensure consistency and embed new investments and capabilities to ensure the group is more responsive and aligned to MBIE’s strategic objectives.
“As the formal change processes are under active consultation with our people, we are unable to provide further comment.”
He said as part of the legislation to repeal the Fair Pay (FPA) Agreement system, the Employment Services branch must return FPA funding by July this year.
“This means finding savings to reduce our costs. This is separate and additional to the fiscal savings required for the public sector.” The Government has asked ministries to find savings of 7.5%.
It had raised eyebrows among staff, The Post was told, that chief executive Carolyn Tremain would not be acting in her role immediately after the announcements were made. An MBIE spokesperson confirmed that Nic Blakeley, the deputy secretary of labour, science and enterprise, will be running the show as acting chief executive for the next two weeks.
With about 600 roles affected across combined proposed cuts to Ministry of Health and Ministry for Primary Industries teams announced on Thursday, the combined redundancy packages are likely to be significant.
The average cost of public service redundancies in 2023 was $70,200 per worker, to the tune of $12.6m for 180 employees - down from $30.9m in 2022, when 319 people were given redundancy payouts, Public Service Commission data shows. It’s commonly understood that the older a contract, the more generous the redundancy payment.
But a Commission spokesperson said it was not possible to calculate the redundancy cost related to the Government’s savings programme as final decisions are yet to be made. “Redundancy costs vary from agency to agency and person to person…While agencies are in consultation it would be inaccurate and unhelpful to share ballpark estimates based on average salaries.
“Given the range of agencies and the work they do, as well as the wide range of seniority of positions to deliver that work, averages and estimates don’t give an accurate picture.”
In the 2022-2023 year, 47 people were paid redundancy, severance or termination at MBIE, costing $1.4m - up from the previous year, when 29 payouts cost $1.2m. The ministry wouldn’t comment on how much would be spent on the voluntary redundancies for the 111 staff who are taking it at the end of this month. It said it would be determining the final cost of the voluntary redundancies upon all positions ending.
A similar review of the Ministry of Health revealed no redundancies in 2022-2023 but in 2020-2021 four staff members were paid $327,811 in redundancies, while in 2019-2020, redundancy payments to 26 people cost $1.4m.
At the Ministry for Primary Industries, four redundancies in 2022-2023 cost $311,947. In 2021-2022, redundancies cost $537,959.
This story has been updated with comment from the Public Service Commission, as of March 23, 2024, 11.34am.