Government cuts are forcing Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to severely undermine its own capabilities with a proposal to cut over 15% of its admin and support staff - the majority of whom are women.

The change proposal revealed today proposes a net loss of 18 out of 110 roles among team administrators, personal assistants, and office support people, with 85% of the affected roles filled by women.

"These staff book travel, support tender processes, arrange meetings, manage diaries, run reception, look after postage, and more tasks that are essential for keeping an office running," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

Affected PSA members fear the proposed cuts would make it impossible for the organisation to have clear and consistent internal processes. The workload of remaining support staff would increase, and other teams would be forced to do their own admin support on top of their current work.

"We’re already seeing this play out in the health sector: nurses and social workers picking up the work of cut admin staff. The same thing will happen here," said Fitzsimons. "When you cut essential workers, someone else will have to pick up their work."

This proposal is the latest example of Government cuts disproportionally affecting women. It comes days after the Department of Conservation’s proposal to cut 84 support roles, and two weeks after the Government cancelled 33 pay equity claims, including those for admin workers in the public service.

"The Government has overlooked and undervalued admin and support workers, disparaging their valuable mahi as inessential and unskilled ‘back office’ work. So, when the Government squeezes funding, their livelihoods are put at risk," said Fitzsimons. "It’s this kind of sexist bias that created the need for pay equity claims in the first place."

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