Christchurch City Council staff told of internal change proposal

14 April 2004

Staff of the Christchurch City Council have today been told about a management proposal to reorganise the way its human resources (HR) and financial services are delivered inside the organisation.

Philippa Jones, the HR general manager, says it is largely an internal matter which could result in some redundancies. The total will not be known until the process is completed.

“These proposed changes tie in with the senior management reorganisation put in place last year by chief executive Lesley McTurk,” Ms Jones says. “Myself and Roy Baker, the corporate services general manager, have explained the proposal to our staff members and have asked for their feedback. In a fortnight we’ll consider that staff input and make a final decision.”

The aim is for the two groups to deliver faster, more consistent services to other council units, she says. That would mean changes in the mix of jobs required.

Staff have been told that, between the two groups, it was proposed to disestablish 27 positions, while 28 new positions would be created.

“Under the proposal, directly affected staff would be encouraged to apply for the new positions. If they were unsuccessful, we’d look at other redeployment opportunities before redundancy,” Ms Jones says. “Redundancies are a possibility but at this stage I can’t say if it will come to that or how many people it might be.”

The unions representing potentially affected staff have been briefed. The scheme, if adopted as proposed, would be cost-neutral, she says.

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