Government blindly cuts to save skin – Willis’s plan clearly hasn’t worked

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi President Sandra Grey has today blasted Nicola Willis’s pre-Budget announcement on public sector job cuts. “After years of failing to make her economic plans work, failing to get the economy back on track, and failing to get the cost of living under control, the Minister of Finance is looking for someone else to blame. This is just a cynical ploy designed to prop up the Coalition’s Budget, rather than a coherent plan designed to tackle New Zealand’s public service needs,” she says.

“The Minister outlined cuts of 12% over three years to affected departments. With inflation on top, that’s around a 20% real-terms cut in funding to departments that look after biosecurity, customs, online exploitation, and public health – with staff to be replaced by AI robots and contractors who don’t count as permanent staff. 8,700 fewer staff delivering essential services, but bonus times for international consultancy firms. This is the opposite of what value for money means,” Grey says.

“New Zealand needs skilled and talented people to deliver the public services we all rely upon. The Minister has just guaranteed a minimum three years of disruption, change, and employment insecurity. Rather than making our public services better, the Minister has just provided another reason for people to leave both the public service and the country. Some of the functions likely to be cut by departments will end up back in government agencies to save money. That simply makes it a cut to frontline public services in disguise,” Grey says.

“Kiwis deserve better than this frankly desperate gamble from the government. Arbitrary cuts to public services. Vague hopes that technology will save billions with no plan. No real understanding of the huge and often unmet public service needs of New Zealanders.

Ministers aren’t even being required to do the work of making decisions – they are passing that down to departments. This is simply the government confirming how out of touch they are,” Grey says.

https://union.org.nz/government-blindly-cuts-to-save-skin-williss-plan-clearly-hasnt-worked/

Frontline Safety Must Come First: Lessons from the Duane Farrell Case

A recent ruling by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has highlighted serious failures in how frontline worker safety was managed within the Department of Corrections.

The case resulted in Corrections being ordered to pay Corrections Officer Duane Farrell nearly $95,000 in compensation and lost wages, after the authority found he had been treated unfairly and that his employer failed to ensure a safe system of work.

This decision should serve as an important reminder to all employers operating in high-risk environments: worker safety must never be an afterthought.

A Failure to Protect a Frontline Worker

The ERA heard that in 2017 Officer Farrell was attacked by a prisoner while escorting them through the prison. After the assault, he requested medical assistance but was not immediately taken to hospital and was reportedly told to “shake it off” before eventually being transported to hospital by another officer.

More concerningly, Corrections later became aware that there was a level 1 threat against Farrell’s life, meaning there was a specific and credible risk of violence against him. Yet that information was not communicated to him, and he was allowed to return to work without understanding the nature of the threat.

The ERA found that Corrections had failed to provide critical safety information and failed to ensure a safe system of work following the assault and subsequent threats.

For a frontline worker, these failures can have profound consequences. Knowing that credible threats exist against you but learning about them only after the fact undermines confidence in the employer’s ability to keep staff safe.

The Importance of Robust Risk Assessment

For NUPE, this case underscores a fundamental principle: robust risk assessment and communication are essential when workers operate in high-risk frontline roles.

Where staff work directly with volatile individuals, offenders, or high-risk environments, employers must ensure:

• Thorough and ongoing risk assessments are undertaken

• Threat information is communicated immediately to affected staff

• Appropriate protective measures and work arrangements are put in place

• Staff are supported medically and psychologically following incidents

• Return-to-work processes prioritise worker safety and wellbeing

  
  

Failure in any of these areas not only exposes workers to harm, but also damages trust between staff and management.

Safety Culture Matters

Frontline roles such as corrections, youth justice, social services, and other high-risk environments rely heavily on a culture of safety and trust. Workers must be confident that when they report risks, injuries, or threats, their employer will take those concerns seriously and act immediately.

A culture where workers are told to “shake it off,” or where critical threat information is withheld, sends the wrong message and undermines safety systems that are meant to protect staff.

A Message for All Frontline Workplaces

This ruling reinforces that employers have a legal and moral duty to ensure workers are protected. In high-risk sectors, that duty requires proactive planning, transparent communication, and a strong commitment to health and safety.

For NUPE, the message is clear.

Frontline workers put themselves in complex dynamic situations to deliver essential public services. They deserve workplaces where risk is properly assessed, safety is taken seriously, and no worker is left in the dark about threats to their wellbeing.

Strong systems, strong leadership, and strong worker protections are not optional. They are fundamental to keeping frontline staff safe.

Holidays Act reform needs to take a break

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Sandra Grey is calling on Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden to pause the proposed reform of the Holidays Act and listen to the concerns of workers.

“The Minister’s desire to introduce a bill to Parliament has got ahead of writing good legislation. We have many concerns about the proposed Bill and have not been consulted properly in its development,” said Grey.

“The Bill as currently written might mean that some workers, particularly vulnerable workers, have their holiday pay reduced. Workers don’t appear to be able to take leave in advance, and their ability to take two weeks of consecutive leave is weakened.

“New Zealanders already work some of the longest hours in the developed world. Burnout and work stress are harming workers and their whānau and costing the economy billions.

“We need to approach change carefully as this Bill will impact millions of Kiwis. Many of the proposed changes seem designed to reduce the benefits that workers deserve during their precious holiday breaks.

“The Government needs to come back to the table, talk with workers and unions, and develop changes that have broad-based support. It does not have the mandate for this Bill.

“There is an opportunity to build an enduring system that delivers for decades to come. Both employers and employees need certainty and a fair deal. The Minister shouldn’t let her desire for speedy reform ruin New Zealanders’ future holiday plans,” said Grey.