The Public
Service Association is calling on the new chief executive of Wellington City
Council to put a stop to further restructuring and review the Council’s
contracting out policies.
The PSA
represents more than 200 Council staff and is the largest union in the local
government sector.
At a meeting
this week PSA members said while they want to work constructively with new CEO
Kevin Lavery, they are calling on him to put a moratorium on restructuring
until a review can be held.
PSA National
Secretary Brenda Pilott says staff have been faced with almost constant
upheaval and restructuring over the past two years with no sign of any let up.
“The
restructuring has led to job losses, cuts to staff hours and on-going
uncertainty. Our members would like the
Council to commission an independent review to measure the effectiveness of the
organisational change so far and assess whether there have been any tangible
benefits or cost-savings.”
“They want to ensure that decisions
made by senior management are in the best interests of staff and city
ratepayers,” she says.
There
have also been jobs lost through outsourcing and privatisation of core services
such as drainage CCTV and roading work and some landfill services. The city’s cleaning services are going to a
private contractor on July 1st.
“The Council
has signalled it may look to further contracting out in other areas. That’s a worry for our members and they would
like to see the practice of contracting out reviewed, or at least a guarantee
that in cases where contracting out does occur, there will be no loss of
employment conditions for affected staff,” says Brenda Pilott.
PSA members at
the Council are very supportive of the Mayor’s endorsement of the Living Wage
campaign and call on the Council to support making Wellington a Living Wage
city.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
PSA National Secretary Brenda Pilott – ph: 0274306016
Media Contact Liz Brown – ph: 0276005498
