Source: PSA
The Finance Minister today is laying out a plan to devastate the public service and sack thousands of dedicated workers, further damaging the services New Zealanders rely on.
In pre-Budget speech Nicola Willis today will set out a radical plan to savage the public service by merging departments, using more AI and setting a target to reduce the public service headcount to about 1% of the population by 2029.
Based on Stats NZ population projections of 5.5 million, that would mean a workforce of roughly 55,000 – meaning up to 10,000 public servants will lose their jobs.
“This is an act of wilful destruction. It will devastate the services New Zealanders rely on every single day. This is irresponsible and reckless and make no mistake the price will be high,” said Duane Leo National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pukenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“The Government needs to tell New Zealanders now which services they’re going to lose. Vague talk of mergers and headcount targets is not good enough.
“Will there be fewer biosecurity officers keeping pests and diseases out of the country? Fewer social workers protecting vulnerable children? Fewer people stopping online harm, child exploitation and scams? Which conservation projects will stop? Which communities will lose access to the services they depend on?
“This can only mean less with less, and all New Zealanders will be worse off.
“This is all about choices. This Government has chosen to give tax breaks to landlords and big tobacco. How can this be smart economics when our population is growing, when climate change is with us, and when our infrastructure challenges have never been bigger?
“An arbitrary headcount target is not a plan. You don’t plan a workforce by picking a number that sounds good in a pre-Budget speech.
“Willis talks about using digitisation and AI as a justification for sacking thousands of workers. The PSA has called for an approach to AI that maximises the benefits and prevents negative impacts for workers and the public. Linking AI to an arbitrary headcount target does exactly the opposite – it turns technology into a threat rather than a tool.
“Department mergers are a recipe for more chaos. Every restructure costs money, drives experienced people out the door, and grinds critical work to a halt for years.
“These cuts will further devastate Wellington’s economy, which has already been hammered by two years of public service job losses.
“New Zealanders deserve to know before the election, not after – which services will be cut? Which communities will be worse off? If the Government is so confident this is the right path, it should tell voters exactly what it means for them. Show us the evidence,” said Duane Leo.
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.