Job cuts at DOC and MSD, Education Ministry and union head to mediation
Thursday, 23 May 2024
The Ministry of Education and the Public Service Association (PSA) will head to mediation next week, as other ministries confirm more cuts and the job loss count in the public service continues to climb.
The Ministry of Social Development’s projected reduction in jobs was released on Thursday, a total of 712. That included:
218 who have been accepted for voluntary redundancy
almost 100 roles proposed to go (almost 30 of those were vacant)
56 fixed term contracts ending in June
341 roles that went due to attrition, sinking lid and fixed-terms ending since December
The Department of Conservation also confirmed it would drop 124 roles. “We will disestablish 257 permanent positions and create 133, 114 of the disestablished positions are currently vacant,” Penny Nelson, DOC Director-General said.
It brings the number of roles in the public service that are confirmed or proposed to be disestablished past 5000.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education confirmed part of its restructure to staff this week, and it is understood so far as of Tuesday more than 500 roles have been confirmed to be disestablished, with more than 200 of those vacant.
MoE’s Zoe Griffiths, Leader (Hautū) Corporate, said they were at “different stages of the process across the Ministry”.
The PSA has accused MoE of “not complying with the collective agreement requirement” to support workers find other work, said assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons, who ran for Labour last election.
“Our position is workers under the contract must be supported into that work in MoE and the public service. We want to keep the expertise within the education system and within the public sector.
“The ministry has asked that we attend mediation in response to a letter that we sent to them which alleged they were not complying with the collective agreement. We agree that mediation is a useful step forward and it's now been agreed that mediation will take place next Thursday.”
Griffiths said MoE “initiated mediation and will continue to engage in good faith with PSA”.
“As previously noted, as we work through each stage of the formal change processes, we are engaging with the PSA on the application of terms within our collective agreement.”