'Reckless': 170 jobs on line at Kāinga Ora and HUD as axe falls across public sector

Author: Azaria Howell,
Publish Date: Thu, 2 May 2024, 9:54AM

Up to 170 jobs are on the line at the state housing agency Kāinga Ora and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Public Service Association (PSA) union warns.

The are the latest announcements in a series of sweeping job cuts across the public sector as the Government seeks big cuts in spending ahead of the Budget.

“The Government’s cuts to public services are targeting Kāinga Ora - the agency charged with fixing the public housing crisis - at a time when 25,000 people are on a waiting list for social housing, said Fleur Fitzsimons, PSA Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi assistant secretary.

To comply with the Government’s cost cutting drive, Kāinga Ora proposed cutting 130 roles in “change proposals” announced to staff today, Fitzsimons said.

Another 40 roles were proposed to be cut at HUD, she said, which helps set policy and work programmes for housing and urban development.

“The cuts at Kāinga Ora are rushed and ill considered, coming at a time when the country is facing a housing affordability crisis and before the results of an independent review of Kāinga Ora led by former Prime Minister Sir Bill English are known,” Fitzsimons said.

It’s understood further cuts could be needed as a result of the English review, which was to be completed by March, Fitzsimons said.

“The Government needs to release the review immediately as this reckless approach to change risks disjointed decision making and creates more distress and uncertainty for staff,” Fitzsimons said.

"Kāinga Ora is a success story, they have delivered more than 6300 homes in construction in 2022 and 2023, the most ever, the last thing any Government should do is make cuts to this critical work,” Fitzsimons said.

NZQA to disestablish 66 roles

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority is the latest education sector agency proposing cuts and job losses.

The NZQA proposal released to staff today would involve a net loss of 35 roles, Fitzsimons said.

“There are 66 roles being disestablished with 13 of those currently vacant, and 31 new roles proposed.

”NZQA plays a critical role in making sure New Zealand qualifications are nationally and internationally recognised and respected, these cuts will make their job harder,” Fitzsimons said.

”A number of the roles proposed to go relate to the delay in the implementation of the new NCEA level 2 and 3 standards which is disappointing as critical expertise will be lost and despite the delay, planning and other work needs to occur now.“

Fitzsimons said it was particularly worrying that this area was being gutted, with seven roles proposed to be cut.

“This team is critical to supporting assessment at kura Māori and other schools offering Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, and those under-served by the education system.”

The NZQA announcement came at the same time as the Ministry of Education confirmed that staff had now been advised of “change proposals”.

“The PSA understands that in total there is a proposed net reduction of 755 positions across the ministry, of which 316 were vacant,” Fitzsimons said.

“The scale of proposed cuts across the education sector is dangerous and damaging and should concern parents and everyone who cares about the future of our children.”

Voluntary redundancy scheme offered at Stats NZ

Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector.

In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand chief executive and Government Statistician Mark Sowden told staff voluntary redundancy will be offered from Thursday, May 2 to Thursday, May 16.

Sowden said “a number of people,” including the Public Service Association, had asked the agency to do this. “This is to give you some agency over your own future, given the change processes under way.”

Voluntary redundancy is being offered to the entire organisation, despite other change processes being in place through various departments throughout Stats NZ. Sowden rationalised the decision saying it was thinking “as a whole organisation”.

Workers were told it is “absolutely” their choice, and the scheme is entirely voluntary. Statistics New Zealand would be able to accept or reject applications; a similar process had happened at the Ministry of Social Development, where 404 people opted for voluntary redundancy and 200 were approved.

People have been told not to make any decision “on a whim”, and have been urged to speak with support networks, family, friends, and the Public Service Association, a union which is consulted on change proposals across departments.

Voluntary redundancy was not offered at Stats earlier because the agency “didn’t need to”, according to today’s memo.

In a statement, Government Statistician and Stats NZ Chief Executive, Mark Sowden said the agency had “been rethinking how we collect and produce data and statistics to meet the changing needs of people and communities, and looking at how we make use of different data sources and technology.”

“We’re also operating in a challenging fiscal context. Globally, we are seeing slow economic growth and high inflation which is pushing up the cost of doing business. As well as operating within our budget, we know we need to find savings to address the increasing costs of doing business,” he said.

Sowden said the agency had been making savings “for months”.

As at the end of December 2023, 1491 people worked at Statistics New Zealand, according to data from the Public Service Commission.

It followed a change process in the same month, that resulted in a loss of 29 jobs.

The agency has been tasked with finding 7.5 per cent savings, the highest amount a department has been asked to find, under the current directive.

All agencies have been urged to seek cuts between 6.5 and 7.5 per cent on average, with the Government previously admitting some may be over and some may be under the line. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has promised savings in some agencies will be re-invested into “critical” services, under the upcoming Budget.

The Herald has previously revealed communications from Stats NZ described the mood as challenging, with “unsustainably” high staffing levels and a multimillion-dollar budget overspend, forecast earlier this year.

Documents released to NZME under the Official Information Act show Stats NZ predicted its headcount of fulltime equivalent employees would go down by 124 roles.

A recruitment pause for roles deemed non-essential has been in place for a number of months at the agency - it was put in place the day before the general election.

Staff had previously been told travel restrictions, pausing recruitment, reducing leave liability, and sharing office space in Christchurch “wouldn’t be enough”.

The Public Service Association is concerned the voluntary redundancies being offered will impact on the agency’s ability to deliver on its “core functions,” though it is supportive of staff having the options.

Assistant Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the PSA fears “the constant rounds of cuts required by the Government to pay for tax relief for landlords will impact the ability of Stats NZ to deliver the quality collection and analysis of data that businesses and communities depend on”.

Sowden said today change of any kind “can be difficult and unsettling” for people involved.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to cut 10.4 percent of its workforce

Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), started consultation with staff today around its change proposal, which would see 30 jobs cut from a workforce of 386.

A spokesperson said the reduction is in addition to 10 vacancies that will not be filled, resulting in a 10.4 percent total reduction.

The Ministry intends to make final decisions on the proposed changes by mid-June.

The roles proposed to be cut at HUD include principal advisers and policy managers, and communications and digital specialists. Further cuts are likely at HUD in the future, the PSA said.

Azaria Howell is a Wellington-based multimedia reporter with an eye across the region. She joined NZME in 2022 and has a keen interest in city council decisions, public service agency reform and transport.

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald here.