rajj

Wait until after the next federal election. The big cuts planned by Abbott & Hockey are public servants....they've made that quite clear. This thread must get political as all the issues are clearly political first & economic/social second.

phat-dave

yes, that is exactly what he is saying. if private enterprise cannot afford their staffing then a restructure identifies a need to reallocate staffing resources, unfortunately this typically results in redundancy.

as i mentioned earlier, it is a very unfortunate situation that anyone has to lose their jobs however at the end of the day there are a lot of folk that are paid higher than private enterprise with greater benefits that do not have formal qualifications and to be frank, joined the public service for its perceived "job for life" mentality.

i think this simply reenforces the importance of investment in your own development with continued upskilling, networking and taking secondments where you can to diversify your experience.

chris955

If you like, yes that is exactly what I am saying. For too many years the Australian public service has been grossly overstaffed and this was bound to happen. A friend in Brisbane was fairly recently taken on by the local Government to look after their website, most of the time she is doing nothing.
It does NOT mean I think it is good that people are losing their jobs or services are being cut but if that job and/or service cannot be afforded then it must be cut.

rajj

Trouble is that where is the evidence that the public service needs a full restructure (other than for political payback - since most of the top public servants would have been engaged by the previous Labour party with certain loyalties).l A full study could equally show that sheding staff for arguably political agenda, will in the end be counter productive and lead to very expensive services in the future which will require even more public funds to fix. That is certainly true in health. Many would disagree, but handing over the running of health from beauracrats to medically trained staff does in the end lead to much higher costs and fewer patients being treated.
Its a public service and not a private firm so the rules have to be different.

As that jobs for life mentality paragraph...that went years ago and with the additional levels of responsibility in the last 20 years I would argue the public service is efficient - at least in Health. Anyone who disagrees is welcome to swap their jobs for that in the public service if they really truly believe it.
Austerity in the UK is delivering bugger all, except social upheavel to come.

I say it again, the Qld situation is political payback. I'm sure that when the current lot are kicked out in say 10 years, there will be a similar drive by the next incomming labour party who will want to remove coalition appointed public servants.

rajj

While I hear what you are saying, I can point to loads of examples of over worked, highly efficient & qualified people who work all the hours without additional pay - especially in health and hospitals. Workload is at breaking point, and frankly i'm thinking of taking the easier route later this year by finally giving up my career in the health sector and doing something for myself -pure profit related and frankly easier. Maybe i'm kidding myself but time will tell.

Pollyana

Goes hand in hand with some of the other recent revelations - like the contract to build a shiny nice office block alongside the river for Mr Newman and his friends, or the employment of a consultant to check out and compare the prices of sofas, because he wanted some new ones for his visitors to sit on

themerlin

It's always worried me that the first person at an accident is so under paid.

Pollyana

Its shocking. i work with a fully qualified paramedic, many years behind her. she got pregnant (unplanned) and therefore had to come off the road, so they then had to put her into an equivalent office job - which is a basic AO3, cos thats the equivalent of her base pay. She now is looking at going back on the road on 24/7 shifts even though the baby is only a few months old because thats the only way they can pay the mortgage which was set up on her "normal" wage. Thinking of the responsibility these guys have its not a fair wage really - and they get so much abuse and violence thrown their way too, disgraceful.

bingobob777

Maybe not, but you only need to go back a few posts to see the outrage at a music programme for kids being cut.

At the same time QLD is tens of billions in debt while receiving the significant additional taxes from the mining boom.

Something obviously has to change.

Toll roads, having to pay for healthcare.

WTF do Australian Govts do with all the money???

rajj

This..p23 for summary ...bet nobody reads it!! http://www.budget.qld.gov.au/budget-...ts-2011-12.pdf

bingobob777

did a quick scan and what stands out for me is

More than 200,000 households assisted in private market housing

High house prices and rents strike again eh

rajj

I know you're not saying this but ...why do public servants have to pay the price with job losses (if not for political reasons). Oh well, i'd better start thinking about Vic as thats where my future lies

chris955

They use it to bribe the electorate with 'bonuses' at election time

bingobob777

why do they have to?

the people in power are far, far too incompetent to make savings by actually restructuring, economising or anything that would involve thought or ingenuity so they have to cut jobs.

Pollyana

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/quee...720-22eki.html

More than 200 employees are set to lose their jobs as the Queensland government pares back the operations of GoPrint .......... the QFleet workshop at Zillmere, which employed 49 people and provided vehicle maintenance, will be closed within six to 12 months.......the government was also moving to close the operations of Sales and Distribution Services, a commercialised business unit that supplied office products, publications and logistical services to government. “Much like GoPrint, SDS, which currently employs 99 staff, has experienced losses in recent years,”
Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mulherin said leaked information from a Cabinet Budget Review submission suggested 550 jobs from the 2500 in the new Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry would be axed.