PSA to fight forced redundancy

Date: 01 August 2011

A state government policy starting today that introduces forced redundancy into the NSW public service will lead to widespread job cuts and will cost taxpayers, said the Public Service Association.

The PSA is taking legal action to challenge the new policy on 'Managing Excess Employees'.

The policy paves the way for the widespread cuts to jobs and services already foreshadowed in the September state budget, said PSA Assistant General Secretary Steve Turner.

"This policy means the NSW Government can restructure any public sector worker out of a job with the stroke of a pen," said Mr Turner.

"By making it much easier to sack people, it can cut services with no consideration of the long-term delivery of programs and deployment of experienced public sector workers.

"Public sector workers can be made 'excess' for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they will lose their job with no real opportunity for redeployment."

The policy means NSW public sector workers declared 'excess' due to restructuring will be made forcibly redundant on a reduced package if they are not able to secure a new permanent position within three months. Moving into a temporary or project role will not spare them from forced redundancy.

Retaining skills and experience has been a long-held principle guiding employment policy within the NSW public service as it is more cost- effective to redeploy existing trained and experienced staff than continuously recruiting and training new staff.

Labour hire costs will blow out under the new policy, said Mr Turner.

In 2009/10, the NSW Government spent $385 million on labour hire staff doing temporary and project work.

"Labour hire costs are already very large; they will grow as public sector workers are sacked with every restructure.

"Sacking public sector workers is short-sighted and a false economy. This move is not only bad news for NSW public sector workers and their families, it is bad news for taxpayers," said Mr Turner.

For further information

Contact:	Steve Turner, Asst General Secretary
Union:	Public Service Association of NSW
Phone:	9220 0900
Email:	psa@psa.asn.au
WWW:	http://psa.labor.net.au/

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