Staffing policy slated

Press, 6 September 1980, Page 12

Staffing policy slated

PA Wellington The Public Service could not discharge its responsibilities because of the Government’s “sinking-lid” policy, the Opposition shadow Minister of Labour, Mr A. J. Faulkner (Roskill) has said in Parliament.

Mr Faulkner said, during a debate on the State Services Estimates, that report after report tabled in the House showed that Government departments could not discharge their resporisibilities because of descending staff ceilings. He cited the Social Welfare and Labour Departments as examples, asking how they could remain ef-

ficient under the sinking-lid policy when 150 ’ additional people had joined the dole queues on every day of the last ttvo.-weeks, „ The Opposition, Mr Faulkner said, opposed the sink-ing-lid policy. It was “utterly ridiculous,”- and more cosmetic than real. ■ Mr R. J. Tizard (Lab., Otahuhu) had previously said that some departments w.ere curtailing services because of the policy. ■He said that. during the year ended March 31, the State Services Commission had . increased its staff, and that more people were being hired to administer a sink-ing-lid policy.

The Minister of State Services (Mr Thomson) said in reply that over the last four years the number of staff in the Public Service had increased by 66, from 66,741 to 66,807. The Government. - he said, was making sure that each department was allocated enough people to do its work. In Labour and Social Welfare there had been "substantial increases” to offset the increased numbe« of unemployed. The Government sought to ensure that the Public Service did not get any bigger and overburden the taxpayer, Mr Thomson said.