[adelaidenow] SA Public sector Job cuts - DEH

[Zippy]

SA public service jobs face the axe
Article from: The Advertiser

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RUSSELL EMMERSON, STATE POLITICAL REPORTER

February 02, 2009 04:30pm

JOBS will be axed so departments can meet the State Government's savings targets.

The Department of Environment and Heritage will target jobs to meet millions of dollars of savings over the next four years, chief executive Allan Homes told a Parliamentary Committee today.

"There is an inevitability that reductions of that magnitude will result in a reduction in staff numbers," chief executive Allan Holmes said.

"But it is no doubt it is challenging to meet those savings."

The department is slated to cut $7.7 million from its budget by 2012 – plus another $3.8 million required by December's Mid-Year Budget Review.

Reducing programs and staff was the only way to achieve this target, Mr Holmes told the Budget and Finance Committee.

But he said government termination packages would not be made available to all staff, with the Government promising only that staff cut in the Budget Review round would have access to packages.

Committee chairman, Liberal MP Rob Lucas, said it was "a recipe for chaos".

"What you're going to have is some members of the public service will be offered TVSP (targeted voluntary separation packages) over the next two to three weeks . . . and there will be other job cuts which won't be offered those same packages," he said.

A State Government spokesman said details of the packages – including their scale and who they would apply to - would not be released until 2009-10.

Public Service Association general secretary Jan McMahon said Mr Holmes's evidence showed a common trend across all departments in the bid to meet savings targets – and of politicians wanting to portray cuts as agency decisions.

"We understand that is it sommon across all agencies and that if politicians want to force cutbacks, it is proper they take the political decision about what community services they want cut," she said.

"Any further cuts forced by government will have a negative impact on community services."

Mr Holmes said the department was investigating programs that could be cut as a result of technological change, or areas in which government services were now provided by the private sector.

The department's mapping services, for example, were now adequately covered by services such as Google Earth, he said.

There mapping services are second to none! Pfft @ Google earth.

Itll be interesting to find out how the Seasonal firefighters are affected by this.

[jaff]

Love to know how much revenue SAFECOM, the ever evolving, ever fattening, unweildy pig of an organisation is taking up!
Typical though the the organisations that do a lot of real work and can afford it the least are the ones cut first!

[SA Firey]

Question is how much revenue is SAFECOM getting from the fire alarms charging policy

[Zippy]

CFS should be charging for Fire alarms to build up a bit more revenue for its own projects....

Make it based on the "Risk" of the premises.

Low Risk:     1/30 days: No charge     3/30 days: $150      5/30 days: $300
High Risk:     1/30 days: No Charge     3/30 daays: $300     5/30 days: $600

There was only few places i can remember that have more than 5 in 30 days...

(yep this is a real suggestion!..itll make the alarm mechanics fix the systems properly )

[misterteddy]

same staffing cuts are being applied within SAFECOM, in particular, the MFS where Admin roles are not being recruited to fill vacancies

[rescue5271]

I think you will find some CFS jobs will also go at regional offices in admin and may be BSO'S.....

[Zippy]

lol...THEN the remaining admin staff will quit due to too much workload etc...follow on effect,   Government in disarray etc

youll find andy patten answering region 1 general phone line next week..

[COBB]

youll find andy patten answering region 1 general phone line next week..

Happens already......

[Zippy]

haha interesting....  wonder what the admin staff do....

id like to know how the Muesum industry is going aswell during this economic climate.

[jaff]

I think you will find some CFS jobs will also go at regional offices in admin and may be BSO'S.....

But that would meen less paperwork being sent out to us and us just getting on with fighting fires...............that cant be good!

Actually the regions really cant afford to lose anymore people, volunteers are getting pulled in at the drop off a hat as it is now!

[Zippy]

Yeah theres a point where the volunteer drawcard has gone too far...particularly in an office scenario.

the Region 1 operations brigade,  and also Region 2, its interesting how they seem to sit in there twiddling there thumbs all day?

[misterteddy]

well....maybe its time us volunteer types said no to being considered unpaid supplementary labour that hides the real cost of the Service .....how many people could we employ for the cost of the rusty lemon parked at Brukunga for the last month?

Be interesting to see what the VFBA do if job cuts at Regions are the case.... time to put up and fight the tough fights without kid gloves.....or sink into oblivion for the final time - they've had enough chances

Maybe it's time for the old Gang of 12 to make a comeback in the media ..lolol