The Department of Conservation is cutting 71 roles in an effort it says to modernise the government agency.
The announcement was a result of a change process released in May which originally pitched axing 84 jobs.
The agency would disestablish 143 administrative and assistant roles and create 72 new ones which would result in a net loss of 71 jobs.
Of the new jobs 25 would be part time.
DOC’s deputy director-general of organisation support, Mike Tully, said the decisions weren’t made lightly but are needed to modernise and operate sustainably.
“This review is about making DOC work better. DOC needs to change the way we work to make everyday tasks easier, balancing our needs with the various challenges we face.”
Tully said the changes were part of an organisation-wide shift towards self-service, taking advantage of new technology and improved systems and processes being introduced at DOC this year.
“The new systems will be more efficient and easier to use, which means more time spent on conservation and less on admin.”
PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said that the removal of staff that monitored radios posed health and safety risks.
“The current support staff have sizeable health and safety responsibilities, such as monitoring staff radio systems and helping to manage emergencies like fires.
“The loss of these team members will mean that these important duties will fall on others – and pose a significant health and safety risk.”
Fitzsimons said that making 25 roles part time would be a blow workers who cannot make ends meet on a part time salary, and who in small towns would struggle to find other work.
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