Brits poaching Kiwi social workers

National Party Welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins says she fears many frontline social workers will be tempted to take up offers of big pay cheques in the UK and Australia.

“Recently the Minister announced plans to recruit more social workers, but this overseas recruitment campaign will make that big job even tougher,” says Ms Collins.

She is commenting on reports today that ‘British companies are offering up to $110,000 to lure Kiwi social workers overseas at a time when the profession here is facing a workforce crisis’.

“Labour’s done little to make life easy for social workers. There is uncertainty over the planned merger and CYF has a Minister who, when something goes wrong, describes it as an operational issue and leaves social workers to carry the can.

“This environment simply isn’t sustainable.”

“What has Ruth Dyson been doing with the massive funding increases at CYF in recent years? Why hasn’t more been spent on the frontline when social workers have repeatedly pointed to obscene workloads and high stress?”

Meanwhile, Ms Collins is seeking clarification from Ruth Dyson as to whether she plans to release a CYF-commissioned report on child homicides.
“She’s saying it will be finished a year late, later this month. Will she release it then and will it be sanitised?

“And while Ms Dyson is at it, can she explain why groups that were supposed to have taken part in the report have not been consulted?”

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