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Public sector doom and gloom a sad indictment of cutbacks
PSA MEDIA RELEASE
2nd July 2012 - For Immediate Use
Public sector doom and gloom a sad indictment of government cutbacks
Figures showing government workers are the gloomiest about their job security are a sad indictment of on-going government cutbacks in the public sector, according to the Public Service Association.
The Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index shows 69% of public servants considered that jobs were hard to get in the latest quarter and 24% thought it would get even harder to find a job in the year ahead. The Index also showed that employment confidence among public sector workers is at its lowest since the measure was introduced six years ago.
PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff says this doom and gloom picture is hardly surprising.
“We’ve already seen up to 2500 public sector jobs lost since National took office. These job losses reduce the capability of the public service, create unsustainable workloads and throw hundreds of skilled, knowledgeable workers onto the scrapheap,” he says.
“The government claims the market will take care of those people who are losing their jobs but the reality is that unemployment is up and the job market is very tight.”
Mr Wagstaff says as the government pushes ahead with its misguided austerity drive, public service workers can see no end in sight.
“There is still so much uncertainty and job insecurity as staff know there will be more restructuring and cutbacks ahead with government departments forced to find another $1 billion in savings from their budgets.”
“Just this morning the Minister of Economic Development signalled further job losses through the establishment of the new MBIE superministry. That climate of uncertainty is very difficult and counterproductive.”
“A change management approach that involves top-down restructuring and forced redundancies saps morale and undermines productivity. We need a new approach to change which is about continuous improvement rather than continuous restructuring and promotes a secure working environment,” Mr Wagstaff says.
ENDS
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