Government puts pressure on jobs within primary industries and health sectors

Last Thursday saw a wave of worry come over staff working within New Zealand's primary industries and health sectors as the government pushes for better saving plans. 

The sent out proposal plans are part of the budget 2024/25 program. 

For the Ministry of Primary Industries, cuts of 384 roles (40 percent of these are vacant) have been put forward, while the Ministry of Health is looking at reducing a total of 180 roles. 

Geoff Short, director at the transformation management office, acknowledges that this is big news for those working in the health sector and it will be unsettling, but states no changes are set in stone yet. 

“As indicated in the staff update on Thursday the 21st, the Ministry of Health has not yet finalized a change proposal. The details, including the number of roles affected, are still being finalized.

"Once finalized, the Ministry of Health will be sharing this information with staff first as part of the consultation process.”

The current standing of the proposal is focusing on creating room for new positions that would be available for redeployment. 

To help focus on what roles need to be cut down or specifically looked into, both Ministries have created a small set of main aims. 

It is also believed that focusing on these main points would allow for overall administrative and management efficiencies in most areas.

Both Ministries want to clarify that at this stage there will be no proposals on making reductions to frontline services and statutory roles. These include veterinarians, animal welfare, fishery, food compliance offices, and bio-security teams. 

Director General for the Ministry of Primary Industries Ray Smith acknowledges that this isn’t really a surprise as they have seen substantial growth over the past few years.

"We have grown a lot over the last five years - by more than 1,100 people.

"This growth has allowed us to be very effective over a challenging period for our sectors, but with programs now bedding down across the organization and in the current fiscal environment, we need to make some efficiencies and change the way we operate while still delivering the excellent service and support our sectors require and expect."

Smith also said they would seek to place as many affected people as possible into alternative roles.

Consultation on proposals for organizational change will run from the 5th- 26th April. Following feedback from staff and any changes to the proposals, final decisions will be made by 30 June. It is expected a new organizational structure will be set up in August.