Job cut madness won't fix Novopay

The Ministry of Education’s decision to restructure their Payroll Services Unit at the very time those same staff are focused on fixing the Novopay shambles is mind-bogglingly stupid, Labour’s State Services spokesperson Chris Hipkins says.

“Thousands of education staff up and down the country are still having problems with their pay, while some aren’t getting paid at all. The idea that the Ministry of Education would decide now is a good time to create huge uncertainty for the staff tasked with fixing the problem defies belief.

“Novopay continues to be a debacle. Now in their infinite wisdom the Ministry of Education has decided to reduce personnel in the payroll team from 23 to 14. They can’t be serious.

“These staff need to be focused on fixing the Novopay mess, not wondering if they are still going to have a job in the New Year.

“Payroll staff have been working under immense pressure to fix teachers’ pay problems. Now they’ve been given two weeks to comment on whether or not they should still have jobs.

“Maybe the top managers at the Ministry of Education should get their pay via Novopay.  Perhaps if they went a couple of months without getting paid correctly they’d get serious about sorting this mess out.

“It’s the job of whoever authorised this restructuring that should now be on the line, not the jobs of the people working to get things back on track. The senior leadership at the Ministry of Education need their heads examined,” Chris Hipkins says.