Source: Radio New Zealand
PSA national secretary Duane Leo told RNZ workers were in a state of confusion. RNZ / Dom Thomas
Morale at the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is “at rock bottom” after a fresh wave of proposed job cuts, the Public Service Association (PSA) says.
The restructure would lead a further 140 roles to be disestablished, with a net loss of 30 positions.
Proposed changes would impact three groups: transport services, commercial and corporate and system leadership, the PSA said.
PSA national secretary Duane Leo told RNZ workers were in a state of confusion and shock after the proposed cuts were put to them.
“Morale is zero, it’s rock bottom at the moment, and there’s real insecurity out there.”
The restructure was especially disruptive, because it came just three weeks after another restructure that affected more than 250 roles in NZTA’s regulatory group.
He pointed out the latest round of changes marked the second major restructure at NZTA since the beginning of the coalition government’s term.
“Restructure after restructure – it’s taken a huge toll on the workers and their families.”
Workers were particularly confused by the cuts to the transport services group, because it was responsible for some of the government’s most critical infrastructure projects, Leo said.
“The transport services group has been given plans to deliver some huge capital transformation programmes, including Roads of National Significance.
“What they’re doing is actually cutting the people who will build their flagship projects.”
This latest proposal meant nearly one-in-five workers at NZTA were facing uncertainty about their employment, the PSA said.
NZTA told RNZ the restructures were in response to a review of how it plans, invests in, delivers and manages transport system assets.
“We have identified the need for clearer, more connected end‑to‑end ways of working, including earlier and more collaborative planning, more consistent investment decision‑making, and a sharper focus on delivery and asset management.”
The changes were aimed at reducing duplication, strengthening accountability, and ensuring it was set up to effectively deliver its services, NZTA said.
Duane Leo. Supplied
Leo said he did not buy that.
“We’ve heard this consistently over the term of this coalition government: ‘it’s about efficiencies, it’s about making the public service more responsive’. This is not the case. It’s cost-cutting.”
NZTA said it was currently formally consulting with people in its system leadership, commercial and corporate and transport services groups on the proposal.
The PSA had made submissions to NZTA on behalf of all the groups that would be affected, Leo said.
Final redundancy decisions would be announced in July for workers in transport services and in August for commercial and corporate and system leadership staff.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand