The Ministry of Health is proposing to slash 134 roles entirely to meet Government expectations to cut spending.
The ministry has been searching for 6.5 per cent cost savings, with the final sign-off to be made by Public Service and Finance Minister Nicola Willis, in relation to the Budget. All agencies have been directed to look for ways to cut back on costs of between 6.5 and 7.5 per cent on average and slash the use of contractors and consultants.
Willis previously told a select committee no agency was immune or exempt from looking for savings, subsequently confirming some agencies may put out proposals over or under the line they’ve been directed to cross.
A consultation document, seen by NZME, details the change proposals at the Health Ministry.
The ministry confirmed the proposal would disestablish 271 roles and propose a restructured new 137 roles.
The ministry has also been seeking feedback on voluntary redundancy for people whose teams are proposed to be reduced in size. Staff are being consulted through to April 26.
Transformation programme office director Geoff Short said in a statement: “The proposed changes are not a reflection of staff performance.”
The Public Service Association states 59 of the roles proposed to be disestablished are within the Public Health Agency, 46 in Corporate Services, 41 in Government and Executive Services, 41 in Regulation and Monitoring, 39 in Strategy Policy and Legislation, 34 in Clinical and Community Mental Health, and 31 in Evidence Research and Innovation.
The union says the proposal would mean the Suicide Prevention Office and other specialist roles were slashed.
“The proposals to axe the Suicide Prevention Office and specialist health workers in mental health make a mockery of the Government’s new portfolio of Minister for Mental Health. We call on Minister Matt Doocey to overturn these cuts which are simply being made to fund tax cuts that New Zealand cannot afford,” national secretary Duane Leo said.
However, Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey said the office “will remain open”, 1News reported.
An internal document, sent to union members, seen by NZME, describes 18 per cent of jobs are proposed to go.
In addition, the Health Ministry is proposing withholding remuneration increases for some above a salary midpoint. The document, seen by NZME, states the PSA is “seeking legal advice to challenge this proposal”.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is standing by the looming cuts, telling reporters this week that his Government wants “medical doctors, not more spin doctors”.
Luxon maintained the view that cost cuts would not impact frontline services and would instead trim the fat on back-office and administrative roles, in an effort to streamline the public service.
Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said New Zealand will “feel the harm” of the Government’s “reckless cuts to jobs” at the health ministry for generations.
“Today we learned 134 crucial positions are set to be disestablished at the Ministry of Health, including in regulation, monitoring, suicide prevention, and science and evidence.
“At the Government’s request, the Ministry of Health has proposed the closure of the Suicide Prevention Office, which is responsible for New Zealand’s Suicide Action Plan, and has seen suicide rates reduced for the last three years.”
Verrall said the Government had made “a song and dance” about establishing a Minister for Mental Health but she was “concerned we are going backwards”.
“The Ministry of Health is proposing nearly one in five jobs are cut – a scale which will mean New Zealanders get less out of their Government and the services that it provides.
“These are not simply back office roles, they are roles that include regulation and monitoring of the health system. When our health regulatory system fails, people get hurt, like they were with surgical mesh.”
Verrall said her thoughts were with public servants at all the affected ministries.
“I want to make it clear that Labour appreciates their service to their country, particularly those who protected people’s health and incomes during the pandemic.
“These hard-working people do not deserve to bear the brunt of Nicola Willis’ reckless fiscal promises. Her tax cuts are not worth losing the very people who help prevent suicide in this country, our smokefree legislation that would save lives and our pandemic preparedness.”
Ministry of Health staff spent their Easter break knowing change would be in the air, once they returned to the office. A memo from Director-General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati, sent prior to the break, noted there was “no good time” to make these announcements.
“We did deliberate about waiting until after a short week, although the school holidays follow soon after. On balance we have decided to hold meetings with affected staff and release the consultation document in the week after Easter,” the health boss told workers.
Health commentator and former executive director for the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Ian Powell told NZME it’s a process of “slash and burn”.
“I think this is a bad process that is most likely going to have a poorer outcome,” he said.
Powell added it was a difficult time for workers: “I think they’ll be feeling vulnerable, scapegoated [...] They’ll have a strong sense of unfairness about how they’re being treated.”
The Ministry for Social Development has today announced a voluntary redundancy scheme, with no set target for uptake.
Front-line staff are not allowed to apply for the scheme, which will be open through to April 15.
In a statement, deputy chief executive Nadine Kilmister confirmed there were likely to be further cuts beyond the voluntary redundancy scheme. “After this voluntary redundancy process, it is likely there will be a further process targeting role reductions in some areas, mainly within our national office in Wellington,” Kilmister said.
“This is a difficult time for staff,” she added.
The Public Service Association, a union representing workers across the public sector, has hit back at the proposals. National secretary Duane Leo said it was “disgraceful”.
A worker who spoke to the PSA said everyone is feeling anxious: “We’re under more pressure than ever before with our workloads rising as finding jobs becomes more difficult. At the same time, the Government is putting more obligations on job seekers who now need to see us more often, and yet we will be getting less support ourselves.”
The latest details come after multiple rounds of voluntary redundancies at the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment, and numerous other cost-cutting bids from ministries, as revealed by NZME.
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.
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