PSA Media Release
5 April 2012
For Immediate Use
Plan for new super ministry needs rethink

The PSA, the public sector union, is seeking a meeting with Minister Steven Joyce to discuss serious concerns raised by members about the setting up of the new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Meetings of PSA members in the four agencies to be merged have revealed deep unease about many aspects of the merger.

“The rationale for this super ministry is not apparent to our members and some of the public interest functions of the merged departments will not fit easily in a ministry set up to support the business sector,” says Brenda Pilott, PSA National Secretary.

“The Department of Labour, in particular, has several functions such as employment relations and enforcing health and safety legislation that are potential sources of tension and conflicts of interest in a ‘business-facing’ organisation. For example, questions have been raised at the Pike River inquiry over how mining safety will be prioritised under a new super department that would include the Labour Department.”

“If the Department of Labour is to be merged, there is a clear need to establish a separate unit within the new Ministry that will allow independence to be safeguarded.

Similar concerns about independence were expressed by our members in the Ministry of Economic Development that has enforcement roles in areas such as Consumer Affairs, Petroleum and Minerals and in Standards and Compliance.

“Our members in the Ministry of Science and Innovation, while seeing some merit in a merger, worry that it will result in the loss of more experienced staff who have already been through two major restructurings in two years.”

“Few of our members see any rationale for the inclusion in the merger of the Department of Building and Housing. This, we understand, was a late add-on to the plan. A merger is an unnecessary diversion at a time when this department should be focusing on the rebuilding of Christchurch and the issues arising from the leaky building debacle. The Government needs to reconsider and leave Building and Housing to get on with this important work.”

“Our members and others have raised serious concerns about the new super ministry. A final decision, we understand, will be made by Cabinet in late April. It’s in the public interest that it’s not simply rubberstamped but given more careful consideration and a thorough cost-benefit analysis before any final decision is made.”

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