8 November 2012

Government pushing jobs and people out the door
The latest unemployment figures should come as no surprise to the government as it continues to kneecap its own workforce and take good jobs out of the system.

Unemployment has risen to 7.3 per cent – the highest level since 1999.

Since National took office up to 3000 public sector jobs have been lost to government budget cuts.

The picture is clearly shown in the latest report on the core public service from the States Services Commission which shows an almost six-fold increase in the government’s total redundancy bill over the past five years. In the year to June redundancy payments totalled almost $39 million compared to just $7.7 million five years ago.

“It’s a figure which reflects the fallout and cost of public sector job cuts. The government is literally spending tens of millions of dollars pushing people out the door,” says PSA National Secretary Brenda Pilott.

“These are good jobs and skilled people being taken out of the system. The government continues to claim that the market will take care of them but as the unemployment figures so starkly show, the job market is very tight.”

Job loss figures in the public sector are also likely to be pushed up further in the coming year as government departments are forced to find another $1 billion in savings from their budgets, while signalled restructuring at agencies like MBIE and the Ministry of Justice have still to take effect.

“The big jump in the unemployment rate reflects the government’s failure to think through the consequences of its actions, and unfortunately it’s workers who are paying the price,” Brenda Pilott says.
ENDS

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