Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
- PSA re-elects President Virgil Iraia for second term
Labour leader Chris Hipkins backed the PSA’s call for a public good test applying before any public service restructures, in his speech to the union’s biennial Congress today.
In his speech Hipkins said Labour would commit to the PSA’s Public Good test.
“Yesterday you called for a national interest test before restructures. I can confirm that a Labour government will do that,” he said.
“There will be no restructure or cost cutting unless we understand the consequences of every decision,” he said.
PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons welcomed Labour’s endorsement of the public good test.
“Thousands of dedicated public servants have lost their jobs and the services New Zealanders rely on have been savaged, all in this blind rush to cut costs with no real plan for what would be lost.”
“That’s why we need a public good test. Agencies should have to stop and properly weigh up the impact on services, on workers and on the communities who rely on them, before ploughing ahead with a restructure, not after the damage is done,” (see summary of criteria below).
“When restructures are rushed through as this government has done without any real assessment of the impact, it’s the public who ultimately pay the price.
The PSA asked all parties likely to be in parliament after November’s election to address its biennial Congress. All except NZ First and ACT agreed.
In their speeches Te Pāti Māori Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson and Opportunity Party candidate Jessica Hammond, along with Hipkins all committed to reinstating Pay Equity.
Hipkins promised a Labour Government would prioritise pay equity settlements for care and support workers and would update the Holidays Act in a way that meant workers would not lose holidays or leave.
Public Service Minister Paul Goldsmith addressed the Congress yesterday.
President re-elected
Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi President Virgil Iraia was re-elected for a second two-year term at the union’s Congress today.
Iraia (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu) works as a Technical Support Analyst at Te Whatu Ora, Health New Zealand. He has also served as PSA Vice President and Teina of Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina.
Iraia said he was humbled to be re-elected by his fellow delegates.
“The clear message from delegates at Congress is that we need to keep campaigning for a change of government. We have a lot of work to do all the way up to the November 7 election and beyond to ensure we protect the jobs and rights of working New Zealanders.”
Background: the proposed public good test
The PSA proposes a statutory requirement for public sector agencies and other publicly funded employers to assess any significant restructure against a public good test before proceeding. The assessment would need to cover a range of criteria including:
- Impact on the services the agency delivers to the public
- Compliance with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the agency’s ability to meet its obligations to Māori under Te Tiriti
- Impacts on workforce capability, both within the agency and across the public and community sectors
- Health and safety impacts, both physical safety and the impact of workload stress on remaining staff
- Long-term, intergenerational impacts, including impacts on New Zealand’s ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change
- Impacts on population groups at risk of being disadvantaged in their access to public and community services, including women, Māori, Pasefika, migrants, rainbow communities and disabled people
- Consistency with undertakings made by the Government in response to a Royal Commission of Inquiry or Auditor-General recommendations
The PSA says the test should apply to core public service agencies under the Public Service Act 2020 and be extended to local government and publicly funded community services as a condition of public funding.
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.