Proposal to cut 12% of workforce, axing 47
FTEs
National Library and Archives NZ admit
services will be hit
The key custodian of our
nation’s history, the National Library and Archives NZ is
again being savaged by Government spending cuts, with a
proposal to shed 12% of its workforce.
A restructure
unveiled to staff today proposes 47 roles being axed which
would mean, if adopted, the total workforce will soon be 15%
smaller than it was two years ago with 350 staff. And more
cuts are coming as Archives Library NZ, as it is officially
known, faces a government demand to cut 10% of
spending.
The agency admitted to staff today the cuts
‘will likely have impacts on service levels.’
“Let
that sink in. You don’t often see a department admit in
writing that its own cuts will hurt the public – normally
they talk about being more efficient, but the truth is laid
out in black and white and that is on the Government,” said
Duane Leo, National Secretary for the Public Service
Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“This is an
attack on our precious taonga, simple as that, and all for
an ideological obsession with smaller government. Our
dedicated archivists, researchers and others are paying the
price for that when they have more to give, and more
valuable work to do for all of us as collections grow. It
makes no sense.”
The PSA represents workers there and
will strongly oppose the cuts in its
submissions.
Workers say this plan impacts across the
organisation, making it more likely it can only do the bare
minimum of its critical work required under legislation. It
will take longer for every part of it to function, putting
at risk access to and preservation of millions of precious
items that speak to our history.
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Specifically, workers
fear:
the cataloguing backlog will grow, meaning
people like families, historians and genealogists will face
delays accessing items or won’t be able to find items at
all.
researchers won’t have the same capacity to
assist people to find what they need to research family
histories, write books, or understand the past.
critical information from many government agencies like
Police, Courts, and Health that Archives is required to
store may take longer to transfer and record, impacting
people’s ability to access their own records.
“How
can we understand our past and learn the lessons of history,
if the Government is kneecapping the very organisation
charged with protecting it?” said Leo.
“The Government
promises AI will fill the gap. AI won’t be able catalogue
the ever-growing collection of material donated to Archives.
AI won’t be able to help people navigate millions of
records. AI won’t be able to guide school groups through
He Tohu, the permanent exhibition of our iconic
constitutional documents like Te Tiriti.
“This will
only get worse with the agency signalling more spending cuts
and restructures to come, just like everywhere in the public
service with this government’s reckless plan to axe
another 9,000 jobs.
“Remember the Government’s loud
and repeated promise – ‘we are getting rid of fat; no
services will be impacted’. Once again, today we are
seeing more evidence of how the Government is misleading New
Zealanders – cuts today and worry about the consequences
tomorrow.
“That’s why the PSA is calling for a
public good test to force agencies to stop and properly
weigh up the impact on services, on workers and on the
communities who rely on them, before ploughing ahead with a
restructure, not after the damage is done.
“That’s
why come 7 November, we need to change the government, to
one that properly values public services like the National
Library and Archives NZ.”
Notes:
Background on
NLANZ proposed cuts – to take effect 30 November
The
proposed cuts impact staff across offices in Wellington,
Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin. For example:
Preservation team focused on preservation and conservation
work reduced by 16%.
Digital preservation team cut
by 19%
Collection description librarians and
specialist roles disestablished – 22% cut to team
Music access service axed
Research archivist,
research librarian and librarians reduced by 18%
The literacy and learning capability team reduced by 36%,
staff helping develop curriculum, moving away from in-person
support to school libraries to on-line support.
Future exhibitions may be reduced to long term static
displays
