400 jobs on chopping block in Te Pūkenga restructure, as union ...
Libby Wilson/The Press
Hundreds of jobs will go in the Te Pūkenga restructure (file photo).
Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology is planning to axe 400 roles following a fresh round of changes in a move slammed by the union.
TEU organiser Daniel Benson-Guiu said it was another blow to an organisation already understaffed and under resourced, with most of the job losses coming from middle management.
“None of the people whose jobs are proposed disestablished have been sitting around with nothing to do. They are all hardworking people whose work will have to be picked up by those who stay behind.
“Everyone at Te Pūkenga has spent the past two years working under the constant threat of restructuring and at the same time they have been doing the work of others, who have left the organisation and not been replaced, on top of their already full-time jobs.
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“This can’t continue any longer.”
Staff were yesterday feeling “shocked” and “gutted” after hundreds found out their roles had been cut.
The mega-polytech flagged it would be consulting staff this week as part of its “organisational design and change programme”.
One staff member, with more than a decade experience in the sector, said she was given a letter at a meeting on Wednesday informing her that her position had been disestablished.
However, the letter did not explain why or provide any information about opportunities to reapply under the new structure.
Te Pūkenga is the largest vocational education provider in New Zealand, formed when the country's 16 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics merged in April 2020.
“Our members have been increasingly concerned about Te Pūkenga over a long period of time now,” union organiser Benson-Guiu said after the latest cuts were announced.
“They were promised a new entity that would deliver better, more equitable and accessible provision but so far they have not seen any benefits of the reforms on the ground.
“The establishment of Te Pūkenga brought with it promises of a system of vocational education that would do more for our regions, more for our Māori and Pasifika tauira and more for our communities.
“Whenever there are cuts, our members tell us the effect it will have on their communities. Our members are passionate, but high workloads and review after review has left many wondering how much longer they can go on.”
