Auckland Council budget: Union slams possible loss of 500 jobs

Wednesday, 8 July 2020

Auckland Council public consultation video for the 2021 Emergency Budget

A trade union says the announcement of a possible cut of 500 or more further jobs at Auckland Council is drastic and denies workers “meaningful consultation.”

Staff were told in a memo on Wednesday afternoon that the exact number of job cuts is not clear, but will be the equivalent of 500 full-time positions – possibly more workers if part-time roles are cut.

The cuts come as Auckland Council’s Emergency Budget, is being finalised, reflecting an expected $525 million cut in revenue due to coronavirus.

Acting chief executive Patricia Reade said the staff reduction is part of a $120 million saving which the council organisation has to find internally but the Public Service Association said it a premature move.

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Public Service Association (PSA) national secretary Glenn Barclay.

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Hundreds of further jobs may be cut, many of them in Auckland Council’s headquarters building.

'It is disappointing to see public statements made about job losses before budget decisions have been made, and before our members have had the chance to suggest other options for saving money,” said Glenn Barclay, the PSA’s national secretary.

“The financial impacts of COVID-19 are severe which is why trying to right the ship in a single year is misguided,” said Barclay.

Barclay said the council had the ability to spread the financial impact of Covid-19 across several years, but was choosing to “rip the plaster off now” and urged the mayor Phil Goff and councillors, to be more flexible.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff announcing in March all council-owned facilities will be closed temporarily because of Covid-19.

The new round of job cuts comes on top of around 1200 roles already cut – some temporarily – at the council and its agencies in the hunt for savings.

“We estimate that we will need to reduce the number of full-time equivalent staff in our organisation from around 6500 [at the end of June 2020] to around 6000,” Reade wrote to staff.

She said $90 million of savings have already been found.

“These include deferring or slowing down projects, scaling back events or reducing spending in areas like marketing and professional services,” she said.

However, the remaining $30 million will have to be found by reviewing the council’s “operating model”.

Councillors meet on July 16 to finalise the budget and decide whether to stick with the previously-proposed 3.5 per cent rates rise or a lesser amount, such as a 2.5 per cent Covid-19 response proposal.

So far, the biggest single group of workers to go are 641 out of 1100 temps, casuals and contractors employed by the council itself.

Most of the balance are contractors and casual staff employed across the council’s agencies.

Auckland Council gets more than half of its revenue from sources other than rates and these are expected to be hit hard over the coming year as a result of Covid-19.

These include less revenue from public transport fares, the almost complete loss of dividends from Auckland Airport and reduced business through the council-owned Ports of Auckland.