November 15th, 2011

The PSA welcomes Labour’s call to review state sector legislation

The PSA welcomes the Labour party’s commitment to enable the state sector to better meet the challenges of today’s complex environment and better serve the New Zealand public in the future.

“The party’s State Services policy which it released earlier today calls for a review of the 1988 State Sector Act, legislation which directs public agencies to operate more like individual companies rather than linked up agencies.

“We applaud Labour’s call to build a framework that supports a more co-ordinated and integrated public sector,” says PSA National Secretary Brenda Pilott.

“The current legislation is 23 years old. It’s long past its use-by date and doesn’t support what’s urgently needed – a more flexible, integrated and resilient system that’s accessible and open to the public. Labour’s policy is calling for moves in this direction.

“A resilient system relies on good people as well as good management systems and frameworks, so we congratulate Labour on its commitment to facilitate career path development both within and across agencies.

“The Government’s indiscriminate cuts to public services have seen some of New Zealand’s brightest and most talented people head overseas. New Zealand can’t afford to lose highly skilled, specialist public sector workers.

“The increased trend towards contracting out of public services has led to a more casualised workforce in some sectors.

“Labour’s policy addresses this shift by ensuring service contractors have good employer practices, pay fair wages and respect their employees’ right to join a union and bargain collectively.

“Given that we haven’t yet seen anything substantive from National on its vision for the state sector, we are still reading between the lines of various Ministers’ speeches. However we do know that more cuts, expensive and demoralising restructures and more contracting out will not best serve New Zealanders or meet the challenges of a 21st century environment,” says Brenda Pilott.

ENDS

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