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Public service cuts hit home at regional IRD offices
31st May 2012
Public service cuts hit home at regional IRD offices
Parts of provincial New Zealand will take another hit today from cuts to the public service as dozens of Inland Revenue staff lose their jobs.
Approximately 60 staff in the Invercargill, Nelson, Rotorua, Napier and New Plymouth offices are being made redundant today. Their positions have been axed as part of the government’s public sector budget cuts.
IRD has been undergoing a large restructuring programme which has already seen its workforce slashed by nearly half in several regional sites. It has been creating what it calls ‘virtual jobs’ in metropolitan centres while reducing jobs and services in the provinces.
PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff says the PSA has been holding meetings with members over the past few weeks and the overwhelming message coming through is that Inland Revenue’s service has deteriorated rapidly through the change process.
“Staff say they are already struggling to meet customer demand and the job losses will mean fewer people on the phones, fewer people talking to customers face-to-face and less processing work being done.”
He says the integrity of the process is also now being called into question.
“In Rotorua we’ve got a situation where staff were told numbers would be cut to a certain level, but as of tomorrow that level will actually be lower with news that several vacant positions are not going to be filled.”
Today is not only a sad day for people in the affected office, but it’s also disappointing for the communities and towns that they serve.
“Regional New Zealand is in desperate need of jobs and economic stimulus. These are good jobs that are going from places where work can be hard to find. People in good jobs bring value and income to small communities. They spend their earnings at local businesses so local businesses will also be hit by these cuts,” says Mr Wagstaff.
The government is dressing up cuts to the public sector as better public services but I think provincial New Zealand is starting to see what the true picture really looks like.”
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