Public service cuts: Ministry for Primary Industries, Health confirm ...

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the Ministry of Health are planning to slash hundreds of roles as part of a cost-saving directive from the Government.

Proposals were set out to staff today, including proposed cuts of 384 roles at MPI and 25 per cent of the jobs at the Ministry of Health - about 180 roles. Both ministries have said it would be done after consultation, through a process of not filling vacancies and redundancies.

The Public Service Association (PSA) says it believed that the proposed job cuts at MPI are only the first round of likely further cuts, describing it as a “reckless, irresponsible gamble” by the Government which could put the country’s export earnings at risk.

The cuts are in response to Government orders to government departments to find savings of 6.5 or 7.5 per cent, based on their recent growth. Some cuts may be more or less significant than the indicated percentage and are not supposed to be to frontline roles.

In a statement, PSA national secretary Duane Leo said about 40 per cent of the roles being targeted at MPI were already vacant, which meant 218 workers will be potentially affected by the proposed cuts.

He said the union understood there would be further rounds of job cuts, because the savings from the current proposals fell short of the 7.5 per cent savings requirement on the ministry.

He said the roles equated to about 9 per cent of MPI’s workforce, describing the ministry as the “first line of defence for our whole economy” and pointing to its work in natural disasters as well as dealing with outbreaks such as mycoplasma bovis.

He said farmers should be alarmed and worried.

“The cost-cutting will hit vital support for the primary sector and everyone else whose livelihoods depend on the it,” Leo says.

“Our export economy relies on world class biosecurity and disease control, and a robust food safety regime that is beyond question.

“Worryingly biosecurity is the biggest area to be cut, with 131 roles to go. Another 80 roles are going from the Agriculture Investment Services, which engages with primary industry stakeholders and farming communities on the ground,” Leo says.

He said in terms of net jobs, the cuts would see 131 net jobs go from Biosecurity New Zealand, 80 from agriculture and investment services, 52 from the policy and trade unit, 27 from the NZ Forest Service and 14 from Māori partnerships and investment.

In an email sent to all staff, obtained by NZME, MPI’s director-general Ray Smith said around 40 per cent of the roles on the chopping block are “currently vacant”.

Consultation has begun on the proposals, aiming to “bring similar functions together to increase efficiency”, ensure work programmes are sustainable and deliver the Government’s priorities.

Smith confirmed in the email that the ministry is not proposing reducing frontline services or statutory roles, including veterinarians, animal welfare, fishery and food compliance officers, or biosecurity teams at the border. Other roles are proposed to see “changes” or be disestablished.

“We are focused on taking actions that ensure MPI continues to deliver our core functions effectively and with greater efficiency.”

Staff were told the ministry will seek to place as many impacted people into alternative positions.

No final decisions have been made.

MPI had earlier withheld an Official Information Act request from NZME for information about its cost-savings push, and was told information was Budget-sensitive.

Consultation on the matter is open until April 9, with Smith promising to listen to what workers say. “SLT [the Senior Leadership Team] and I remain open to considering additional ideas before making final decisions and look forward to seeing your submissions,” he said.

Final decisions are expected by mid-May.

Meanwhile, Budget Day is on May 30 and is expected to reveal the extent of the changes in the public service. NZME has revealed plans and communications for change at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Ministry of Transport, Statistics New Zealand, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defence, Department of Conservation, Ministry for the Environment, Education Review Office, Kāinga Ora, Inland Revenue, Department of Internal Affairs, and Te Puni Kōkiri.

Smith is expected to meet with union delegates and officials from the Public Service Association in relation to the proposal.

Ministry of Health staff have also been told that a quarter of the jobs at the ministry were set to be cut under a proposed restructure.

That equates to about 180 jobs.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health has also confirmed that up to a quarter of the jobs at the ministry could be scrapped in its proposed restructure although no final decisions had been made.

The cuts are part of the coalition Government’s drive to cut public sector spending by requiring government departments to find 6.5 per cent of 7.5 per cent of savings - but to restrict staff cuts to back-office roles.

In a statement, Geoff Short, the Ministry of Health’s director of the Transformation Management Office, confirmed staff were updated this morning on the timing of the proposed changes.

Consultation would run from April 5-26, final decisions made by June 30 and the restructure set up in August.

“This is a difficult and unsettling time for Ministry of Health staff. The proposed changes could affect just over a quarter of the ministry’s positions - that would include removing vacancies as well as some positions being disestablished.”

He said the proposal would also create some new positions, which would be available for redeployment.

“A further group of positions may also be affected by proposals for a reporting line change or a change in job title. The full details of the proposed changes will be available to staff in the consultation document.”

Azaria Howell is a Wellington-based multimedia reporter with an eye across the region. She joined NZME in 2022 and has a keen interest in city council decisions, social housing and transport.