Councillors keep out of jobs plan

Northland Regional Council chairman Bill Shepherd

Restructuring not our business, says chairman

Northland regional councillors won't concern themselves with staff employment issues or morale and it is up to the chief executive to push through a controversial staff restructuring, chairman Bill Shepherd says.

Mr Shepherd said he won't comment on staff issues, specifically CEO Malcolm Nicolson undertaking a process that would put several senior managers out of their jobs.

On Monday Mr Nicolson told staff a review could possibly disestablish 11 jobs and create up to 18. As of yesterday, Mr Nicolson was on two weeks' prescheduled leave and unavailable for comment.

In a press release issued beforehand, he said the change was "to ensure that the organisation is fit for purpose to deliver the objectives and values as determined by the council".

Though some senior jobs would go, "at the same time the creation of a greater number of new roles would expand and realign council's capacity to meet strategic objectives".

NRC staff contacted by the Northern Advocate said they were prohibited from discussing the matter.

Mr Shepherd said the review would ensure the organisation could respond to proposed new directions the council had signalled in its Long Term Plan Consultation Document. It was the chief executive's responsibility to deliver on the council's expectations.

Mr Shepherd would not confirm whether the structural review was as a result of a direct request by the elected council, or if the full council had known about it. He said it was usual for staff to be engaged first, and the council informed later. However, two councillors spoken to by the Advocate did not know about it until Thursday.

Mr Nicolson is the sole employee of the elected council and all other staff are in turn employed by him. Mr Shepherd said the council would not get involved in staff employment matters or concern itself with staff morale.

He would not comment on the timing of the review - after the Local Government Commission's proposal to amalgamate Northland's four councils and before the announcement of its decision in a month or so.

Mr Nicolson did not reply to requests from the Advocate to answer some of those points before he went on leave.

In February, Mr Nicolson received the second in a two-stage salary increase based on what the council perceived to be "improvements in organisational culture", as stated in the February 17 council meeting's agenda. Mr Nicolson had a pay increase in September last year, backdated until January. The February increase, backdated to October, lifted his salary to $267,936.