Debate on numbers in Public Service

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34099, 11 March 1976, Page 5

Debate on numbers in Public Service

(From

OLIVER RIDDELL)

U ELLINGTON. The debate between the Canterbury Chamber nf Commerce and the State Services Commission <»n the numbers employed in the Public Service has continued with further comments from the chamber and a reply by the commission’s secretary (Mr T. J. Sanger). The chamber s calculations on the numbers employed in rhe Public Service had not seen based on “estimates.” had been suggested, but were based on the actual figures tor past expenditure extracted from the budget tables from the Estimates of Expenditure, said Mr .1. M. T Greene, chairman of the chambers economic affairs committee. Similarly. the figures for the numbers in public employment had been taken from the stated figures of persons actually employed. “It was intriguing to learn ’ha" the figures presented to Parliament in the Estiamates of Expenditure tables 1 differed from the departmental records." Mr Greene said. The estimates gave the actual numbers employed by rhe State Services Commission as 461 f r March 1974. and 512 for March. 1975. while rhe commission had said the figures were 504 and 548 respectively. This raised the question of how many more of the Estimates’ staffing figures were correct and how much larger was

the Public Service (including all public servants) than the chamber had been led to believe. “It is also interesting that, one of the reasons given for the staff increases is the employment of computers,” Mr Greene said ‘Does this mean that by buying very expensive computers we have sharply to increase the persons employed? "Perhaps Parkinson would have said that staffs will increase by the amount of computer time available. Ifbusinesses ran on this principle most of them would perish ” The chamber also had doubts about the assertion that onlx the Department of Social Welfare. State Insurance Office and the State Services Commission had grown at a faster rate than the increase in the workforce for the 1374-75 year. The figures in the Estimates appeared to show that only i i the Departments of Maori Affairs and Mines had grown at a lower rate. “As ‘The Press' pointed; out, the minor details may be irrelevant, but they do highlight a serious situation of which the Government seems to be well aware.” Mr 'Greene said. “We cannot afford un-l bridled growth of our State services or of Government i expenditure if we are to. develop efficient and profitabl.- farming and manufacturing industries. “Without the achievement of these goals, our living standards must decline sharply. This is the message that must be got across to the umpteen pressure groups ■ hammering for aid for their

own protecis,” Mr Greene said. Mr Sanger said in reply, that the chamber had made three points on which the Slate Services Commission should comment. In calculating the number of people on the staff of the Public Service, the commission counted heads, but the! Treasury, or. the other hand,; for the Estimates of Ex-i penditure counted the num-i her of full-time salaries paid. For example, two part-time ; employees working for half a day would be counted as: two by the commission and one by the Treasury, as only! one full salary was paid. The commission's figures also included wage workers,; whereas Treasury figures did not. except in the small de-1 partments where the item; was shown as “salaries. : wages, and allowances.” Mr Sanger said. As the department which; provided computer services! to most of the Public Service. the commission's : staffing responded to the ; ever-increaseing demand for computer services. The Christchurch and Auckland Technical Institutes were also served by the commission's computers. “In my earlier reply, 1 said that these departments 'which are quoted in the, (chamber’s letters -were among those which ini creased during the year,” Mr Sanger said. “These were examples were staff ini creases could be tied specifically to a particular: Government decision. In addition, departments can normally 7 be expected to grow in Tine with population growth."