Relaxation on staff severance

Press, 27 November 1986, Page 1

Relaxation on staff severance

PA Wellington The State Services Commission has agreed to relax voluntary severance and early retirement options for Forest Service staff. The Opposition, however, has urged the Government to take "one last step” and offer genuine voluntary redundancy to all workers affected by the present shake-up of environmental administration. The State Services Commission and the P.S.A. yesterday announced

agreement on options to deal with staffing surpluses involved in the corporatisation of commercial functions in State lands and forestry. They will be available to all permanent staff of the Forest Service, the Lands and Survey Department, the Commission for the Environment, and the Wildlife Division. The full range of options is now attrition (resignation, retirement and death), job transfer, retraining, early retirement under enhanced conditions, leave without

pay, and voluntary severance.

The Minister of State Services, Mr Rodger, said the agreement would "considerably ease the minds” of staff in departments affected by environmental restructuring and would make decisions about their future much easier for them.

The agreement meant staff eligible to retire early could choose to take an enhanced early retirement option from a date agreed between that person and the employing department.

Under the agreement, the choices for employees now are to:

• Apply to take the enhanced early retirement if they meet the age and service requirements.

• Apply for vacancies which involve significant change and be appointed or not.

• Not apply for such vacancies.

• Either accept or not accept redeployment offers involving sigificant change. • Uplift voluntary severance on March 31

® Uplift voluntary severance on March 31 because they were not appointed to any vacancies applied for.

The commission's chairman, Dr Rod Deane, and the P.S.A.’s president, Mr Colin Hicks, expressed concern that misunderstandings about the appointment processes being used to staff the new environmental agencies may have led staff to

next year if they choose because the change involved in the options listed is too great.

apply for positions in which they had no genuine interest.

The commission and the P.S.A. had, therefore, agreed that: • Employees do not have to apply for any positions in the new departments. • If employees do not apply for a position it will not prevent them from coming under the deployment agreement. • Employees who have applied for positions because of any misunderstanding may withdraw their applications.