Dozens Of Staff Affected By Southland Council Shakeup

Friday, 4 April 2025, 8:56 pm
Article: Matthew Rosenberg - Local Democracy Reporter

Environment Southland has confirmed it will disestablish 51 roles as part of a major shake-up affecting almost a quarter of staff.

The move was announced to employees on Thursday and follows both a three-week consultation and meetings with affected parties.

A total of 58 new roles will be created as part of the process, which also impacts general manager positions.

In a statement, council chief executive Wilma Falconer said engagement with staff had been constructive with changes made as a result of feedback.

“We embarked on this process to ensure we have the right structure and resources to respond to our communities, and the unique environment we work in,” Falconer said.

An organisational design document obtained by Local Democracy Reporting said the process was not undertaken to reduce numbers.

It said that overall, staff felt the proposals moved the organisation in the right direction.

That account was at odds with one source who said last month the feeling at the organisation was “dire”, with people disengaged, working from home, or using sick leave.

Those comments came days after the three-week consultation period ended.

One concern emerging from consultation was the addition of a new general manager role.

There were fears the organisation was becoming “too top heavy”, according to the organisational design document, which also highlighted concern about a lack of transparency and communication regarding the rationale for the new role.

The council responded by creating new positions of general manager science and general manager strategy and regulation, but kept the total number of such roles at six.

Affected staff must now decide where they sit with the company as the new structure comes into play on Monday.

A contestable section and expression of interest process will begin, with open recruitment for unfilled positions.

If employees are unable to secure new roles within the restructure, they will be made redundant and receive a payout in accordance with employment agreements.

The restructure is the second phase of a process which began last year with upper management.

A proposal document released in February showed there were 212 roles at the organisation.

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