Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
- Proposal to cut 12% of workforce, axing 47 FTEs
- National Library and Archives NZ admit services will be hit
The key custodian of our nation’s history, the National Library and Archives NZ is again being savaged by Government spending cuts, with a proposal to shed 12% of its workforce.
A restructure unveiled to staff today proposes 47 roles being axed which would mean, if adopted, the total workforce will soon be 15% smaller than it was two years ago with 350 staff. And more cuts are coming as Archives Library NZ, as it is officially known, faces a government demand to cut 10% of spending.
The agency admitted to staff today the cuts ‘will likely have impacts on service levels.’
“Let that sink in. You don’t often see a department admit in writing that its own cuts will hurt the public – normally they talk about being more efficient, but the truth is laid out in black and white and that is on the Government,” said Duane Leo, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“This is an attack on our precious taonga, simple as that, and all for an ideological obsession with smaller government. Our dedicated archivists, researchers and others are paying the price for that when they have more to give, and more valuable work to do for all of us as collections grow. It makes no sense.”
The PSA represents workers there and will strongly oppose the cuts in its submissions.
Workers say this plan impacts across the organisation, making it more likely it can only do the bare minimum of its critical work required under legislation. It will take longer for every part of it to function, putting at risk access to and preservation of millions of precious items that speak to our history.
Specifically, workers fear:
- the cataloguing backlog will grow, meaning people like families, historians and genealogists will face delays accessing items or won’t be able to find items at all.
- researchers won’t have the same capacity to assist people to find what they need to research family histories, write books, or understand the past.
- critical information from many government agencies like Police, Courts, and Health that Archives is required to store may take longer to transfer and record, impacting people’s ability to access their own records.
“How can we understand our past and learn the lessons of history, if the Government is kneecapping the very organisation charged with protecting it?” said Leo.
“The Government promises AI will fill the gap. AI won’t be able catalogue the ever-growing collection of material donated to Archives. AI won’t be able to help people navigate millions of records. AI won’t be able to guide school groups through He Tohu, the permanent exhibition of our iconic constitutional documents like Te Tiriti.
“This will only get worse with the agency signalling more spending cuts and restructures to come, just like everywhere in the public service with this government’s reckless plan to axe another 9,000 jobs.
“Remember the Government’s loud and repeated promise – ‘we are getting rid of fat; no services will be impacted’. Once again, today we are seeing more evidence of how the Government is misleading New Zealanders – cuts today and worry about the consequences tomorrow.
“That’s why the PSA is calling for a public good test to force agencies 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.
“That’s why come 7 November, we need to change the government, to one that properly values public services like the National Library and Archives NZ.”
Recent statement on public good test
1 September Enough is enough: public good test needed to stop Govt’s reckless restructures
Background on NLANZ proposed cuts – to take effect 30 November
The proposed cuts impact staff across offices in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin. For example:
- Preservation team focused on preservation and conservation work reduced by 16%.
- Digital preservation team cut by 19%
- Collection description librarians and specialist roles disestablished – 22% cut to team
- Music access service axed
- Research archivist, research librarian and librarians reduced by 18%
- The literacy and learning capability team reduced by 36%, staff helping develop curriculum, moving away from in-person support to school libraries to on-line support.
- Future exhibitions may be reduced to long term static displays
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.