- A net 673 roles proposed to be axed across successful public housing provider

- Cuts mean a third of workforce gone in a year

The latest restructuring of Kāinga Ora proposes deep cuts to the jobs of those working with other agencies to place people on waiting lists into houses, and in call centres where staff help tenants resolve issues.

Plans announced to staff today would see a net 673 roles gone, including 195 roles that are currently vacant.

"These proposals would result in the mass dismissal of experts who support tenants in public housing," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

"This is an attack on tenants, their families, an attack those who need homes to live in and will be resisted.

"With other cuts made last year, all up, a third of the workforce would be axed because of the Government’s ideological refusal to invest in Kāinga Ora despite a record number of houses being built by the agency.

"The Government has been deliberately catastrophising about Kāinga Ora’s finances to suit its privatisation agenda. It is simply setting up a far smaller Kāinga Ora to fail.

"This proposal is yet another broken promise by the Government that cuts will not hit frontline services as it runs down an agency that has successfully housed so many New Zealand families.

"The proposal includes gutting the team which works across the country with the Ministry of Social Development to place people in social housing. They find the right houses in the right location for families on waiting lists, including taking people to home viewings - these are critical customer facing roles and Kāinga Ora will still have 78,000 dwellings to manage.

"Workloads will increase and service will slow - how does that help with waiting lists still growing?"

Kāinga Ora is also proposing to cut 12 staff or 10% of the team which deals directly with calls from tenants and the public at its three call centres. All up 66 net roles at call centres are proposed to go, a third of the workforce.

"This will impact the service tenants expect when they have problems."

Other roles proposed to go include stakeholder relationship managers who work with communities, health and safety experts, building inspectors, accountants, lawyers and business analysts.

"The Government has made a choice to cut taxes for landlords and turn its back on a successful organisation like Kāinga Ora which has a proud legacy of putting New Zealanders who need a helping hand into warm dry homes.

"These deep and brutal cuts will mean Kāinga Ora will be a shadow of its former self - making it much harder for a future government wanting to return to the role of the state taking the lead in providing social housing. It’s appalling."

© Scoop Media