❓ Opposition questions the Premier about potential public sector job losses exceeding the initially announced 1,200, particularly in education, health, and disability sectors. The Premier clarifies the voluntary redundancy program target and addresses involuntary redundancies.
AnsweredQoN 591Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PUBLIC SECTOR — REDUNDANCIES
591. Mr M. McGOWAN to the
Premier:
I refer to the announcement of the
Premier in June this year that 1 200 public sector jobs would be cut through
various measures, and his comment that this is ''a necessary action''.
(1) Given recent
announcements of job losses in the education, health, and disability sectors
alone, will public sector job losses not soar above 1 200?
(2) If yes to
(1), can the Premier inform the house today of his government's
specific target in relation to public sector job losses; and, if not, why not?
591. Mr M. McGOWAN to the
Premier:
I refer to the announcement of the
Premier in June this year that 1 200 public sector jobs would be cut through
various measures, and his comment that this is ''a necessary action''.
(1) Given recent
announcements of job losses in the education, health, and disability sectors
alone, will public sector job losses not soar above 1 200?
(2) If yes to
(1), can the Premier inform the house today of his government's
specific target in relation to public sector job losses; and, if not, why not?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
The government announced some time ago that a voluntary redundancy program
would be put in place for the public sector across all agencies—I
stress voluntary. The target, or estimate if you like, was that that may
account for some 1 000 people and positions.
Mr M. McGowan : It was 1 200.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : No; 1 000.
That process is ongoing. From the preliminary reports that
have come in, we would expect the number of applications for voluntary
redundancy to exceed 1 000, and probably by a significant amount. That does not
surprise me because the state has put forward a very generous offer. But that
will be assessed, and the question we will face is whether we extend it beyond
1 000 or extend it longer in time.
The second component, which will be the subject of
legislation to be introduced in the next few weeks, relates to involuntary
redundancy. The commonwealth and all other states have had an involuntary
redundancy program for some time. When that legislation is introduced, members
will see that an exhaustive process will take place before someone would be
considered for involuntary redundancy; that relates to redeployment and
training—a whole series of steps. In a sense, it is a last resort.
Mr M. McGowan : So
what's the target?
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Because we have not had involuntary redundancy in this state, I would imagine
there will be some build-up of people who would probably come under that
category of involuntary redundancy. We do not have a target on involuntary
redundancy, and we do not intend to. I have said that maybe it may amount to
100 people to 200 people or something of that scale—I do not know—but
there is no target on involuntary redundancy. It is very much applied to the
individual's level of competency or skill, and to the position they may
occupy that may no longer be required. So, there is no target, but I think
anyone who understands the public sector here and elsewhere knows that in a
large employment area of around 110 000 people, there will be people who simply
are no longer suitable to work in that area or their position has disappeared
or they cannot be gainfully employed elsewhere in the public sector. Whether it
is 100 or 200, I do not know; I think it would probably be somewhere in the
range of 100 to 200, but that is just simply a guess. I again stress that the
government does not have a target and will not have a target on involuntary
redundancy.
The government announced some time ago that a voluntary redundancy program
would be put in place for the public sector across all agencies—I
stress voluntary. The target, or estimate if you like, was that that may
account for some 1 000 people and positions.
Mr M. McGowan : It was 1 200.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : No; 1 000.
That process is ongoing. From the preliminary reports that
have come in, we would expect the number of applications for voluntary
redundancy to exceed 1 000, and probably by a significant amount. That does not
surprise me because the state has put forward a very generous offer. But that
will be assessed, and the question we will face is whether we extend it beyond
1 000 or extend it longer in time.
The second component, which will be the subject of
legislation to be introduced in the next few weeks, relates to involuntary
redundancy. The commonwealth and all other states have had an involuntary
redundancy program for some time. When that legislation is introduced, members
will see that an exhaustive process will take place before someone would be
considered for involuntary redundancy; that relates to redeployment and
training—a whole series of steps. In a sense, it is a last resort.
Mr M. McGowan : So
what's the target?
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Because we have not had involuntary redundancy in this state, I would imagine
there will be some build-up of people who would probably come under that
category of involuntary redundancy. We do not have a target on involuntary
redundancy, and we do not intend to. I have said that maybe it may amount to
100 people to 200 people or something of that scale—I do not know—but
there is no target on involuntary redundancy. It is very much applied to the
individual's level of competency or skill, and to the position they may
occupy that may no longer be required. So, there is no target, but I think
anyone who understands the public sector here and elsewhere knows that in a
large employment area of around 110 000 people, there will be people who simply
are no longer suitable to work in that area or their position has disappeared
or they cannot be gainfully employed elsewhere in the public sector. Whether it
is 100 or 200, I do not know; I think it would probably be somewhere in the
range of 100 to 200, but that is just simply a guess. I again stress that the
government does not have a target and will not have a target on involuntary
redundancy.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.