PSA MEDIA RELEASE
April 25, 2009

For Immediate Use

PSA opposing plan to cut 88 positions at Ministry of Justice 

“The Ministry of Justice is the latest government department with an increasing workload where jobs are being cut as the result of a government review of its budget,” says Public Service Association national secretary Richard Wagstaff.

Ministry of Justice staff have been sent a restructuring paper proposing that 88 positions working for courts and the fines collections unit be axed. The Ministry plans to create 51 new positions. This would mean 37 staff will lose their jobs but Ministry staff are telling the PSA they expect the job losses to be higher because in some areas they will be competing for the new positions.      

“The PSA will be opposing the proposal to cut jobs at the Ministry of Justice,” says Richard Wagstaff

“This is another case where a government budget review is leading to jobs being cut at a government department that provides an essential service to the public and where the workload is increasing.” 

“Just days after hearing that 250 jobs are to be cut at IRD we learn that there is a proposal to cut at least 37 jobs at the Ministry of Justice.”         

“Justice is already being delayed because of a backlog of court cases which is why the Ministry is due to trial an extension of sitting hours at four district courts in Auckland,” says Richard Wagstaff.

The Auckland, Manukau, Waitakere and North Shores District Courts will start calling cases at 8.30am and close as late as 7pm during a month long trial due to start in June. The extended hours involve Justices of the Peace and if successful in Auckland could be trialed at courts in other parts of the country.

“Why is the government making the Ministry of Justice cut jobs at a time that the Ministry is increasing the workload of its staff by extending court sitting hours?” asks Richard Wagstaff.

“Why is the government cutting staff working for courts when judges recently supported the Ministry when it asked the government for 53 extra security staff at courts?”

Chief High Court judge, Justice Tony Randerson, stated if the Government did not provide more court security staff public safety will be compromised and “a very serious incident is viewed as an inevitability.”

“Why is the government cutting staff working for courts when Parliament’s justice and electoral select committee last month raised concerns about court workload increases?” asks Richard Wagstaff.  

A committee report issued on March 19 stated that our largest courts are listing up to 150 cases a day more than double the 60 cases normally expected at this time of year. The reports says: "We are aware that the economic situation is also affecting court workloads with, for example, increases in the number of liquidation cases being filed."

“It makes no sense for the government to be cutting jobs at the Ministry of Justice when justice is being delayed because our courts are overloaded and more staff are needed not less,” says Richard Wagstaff.  

“It makes no sense for the Ministry of Justice to propose cutting five civil case flow managers in Manuakau, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch and a family and civil court case flow manager in Whangarei when our courts are struggling to handle their current caseload which continues to rise.”

“The PSA will be opposing these job cut because the government needs to realise that unlike the private sector, where jobs are being shed because of a  lack of work, workloads in the public sector are increasing,” says Richard Wagstaff.

 ends

© Scoop Media