PSA Disappointed With Lack Of Extra Funding For Public Services

"The PSA is disappointed little new funding has been provided across the board in the budget to rebuild run down public services," says PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff.

While a number of services have received tagged funding for specific initiatives there is little in the way of general increases to fund much needed pay increases across the sector," said Mr Wagstaff.

"We acknowledge that some specific services have received additional funds to boost capacity such as Child Youth and Family and Inland Revenue, but employees in a number of public services have missed out. We are particularly concerned about the lack of new l funding for mental health and probation services. PSA members in probation have had little in the way of pay rises or more staff to deal with high workloads in the last ten years. They will be looking to the government to find some money before these services reach crisis point as has happened with Child Youth and Family", Mr Wagstaff said.

We recognise that there are limited resources and there needs to be a close look at how existing money is being spent. PSA members want to have a say in the priorities for spending within public services. But without new money, for many services there will little to bargain over, said Mr Wagstaff.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>