The PSA is pleased Te Whatu Ora has listened to its concerns and is seeking further consultation with unions on a major restructuring as it seeks to remove duplication and centralise services.

"This will be a huge relief for workers," said Kerry Davies, National Secretary for Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

"This is a significant process that impacts the lives of hundreds of workers across all tiers of the health service, so we’re pleased that Te Whatu Ora has responded to our concerns and put the brakes on.

"We have been pressing Te Whatu Ora for some time now that a restructure of this complexity needs adequate time for consultation - in our view Te Whatu Ora had failed to provide enough information to affected workers to allow them to properly consider the impacts."

Consultation on Te Whatu Ora’s ‘Simplify to Unify’ change process has been underway since late March with decisions on the first four areas impacted due to be announced tomorrow. These were Finance, Commissioning, National Public Health Service, and Service Improvement and Innovation.

Te Whatu Ora earlier this year said some 1600 positions across New Zealand could potentially be axed following last year’s reforms to merge the 20 District Health Boards into a national health service.

"The PSA has been advocating for all workers, as many are not covered by a collective, and it’s critical that there is genuine consultation with everyone," said Davies.

"It’s important that Te Whatu Ora takes all workers along on this process and ensures there is sufficient time for them to provide feedback on what will work best for them and the health service. This is too important to be rushed.

"The PSA supports the intent of the health reforms - we all want a health system that ensures New Zealanders no matter where they live have access to a consistent level of high-quality service. We need to do better, and workers views are critical to ensuring Te Whatu Ora delivers a health system fit for all of us.

"So, we’re pleased Te Whatu Ora has listened and is seeking further engagement with unions so we can work together to get this important reform right," said Kerry Davies.

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