Job cuts pop up in WA costings
The WA Liberals have been accused of forcing 2000 public sector workers out of their jobs to pay for promises.
WA Liberals have over $2.8 billion in promises lined up ahead of this weekend’s state election.
“The estimates have been based on a sound information set and methodologies,” says WA Under-Treasurer Michael Barnes.
But the costings come with previously unannounced savings, which will require 2000 voluntary redundancies in the public service.
Those 2000 positions will be replaced by 1000 graduate staff in order to save $80 million.
CPSU/CSA secretary Toni Walkington said it would clearly hurt the public sector.
“We will lose two thousand jobs along with valuable knowledge and skills from the sector, while the government engages only a thousand new graduates for less money, expecting them to do the same work,” she said.
Labor has decided not to give Treasury its costings details, but instead has enlisted two former senior public servants, including former Public Sector Commissioner Mike Wood, to check its numbers.