CTU Policy: (5) State Services Structure and Organisation

From the CTU policy book, produced November 2000.

5. STATE SERVICES STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION

5.1 The State Sector

5.1.1 The NZCTU believes that a strong and effective state sector, motivated by the goal of service to the community, is both desirable and necessary, and that the achievement of such a state sector is a goal which all trade unionists and socially concerned individuals should seek to attain.

5.1.2 The NZCTU believes that the state should be used to:

(a) Provide permanent and decent employment opportunities for the unemployed;

(b) Plan, direct and regulate the economy and the goals of national development;

(c) Improve the communications, education, health, transport and welfare services provided to the community;

(d) Improve the competitiveness and efficiency of the private sector; (e) Counteract the growing influence of transnationals and monopolies.

5.1.3 It is NZCTU policy that instead of trying to cut back on state activities, the Government should be expanding and strengthening these activities because it is not in the interests of state employees, of the general public or of society as a whole that:

(a) Jobs are destroyed in the state sector, thus adding to the unemployment problem;

(b) Health, education and welfare services are allowed to deteriorate whilst profitable private sector firms are subsidised by the state;

(c) The private sector is allowed to operate, on a profit-making basis, thus leading to a reduction in the standard of the services and very probably an increased cost to the user of the services;

(d) An increasing say in national economic affairs is transferred to monopolies and transnationals which do not operate in the public interest and are not publicly accountable.

5.1.4 It is NZCTU policy that the following principles should be the basis for the operation of the State services:

(a) Non-political control;

(b) Appointment and promotion based on merit;

(c) Fair relativity as between salaries and conditions of employment in the public sector and in the private sector;

(d) Efficiency and economy;

(e) The state employing authorities shall have regard to the public interest as a guiding principle, and, in considering public interest, it shall have regard for the morale and the long term efficiency of the state services;

(f) A unified career service;

(g) Protection for career state employees, i.e. the service should, to the fullest extent possible, recruit staff at an early age, train them itself, and safeguard the promotion prospects of those who have made the service their career. 5.2 State Pay Fixing

5.2.1 The NZCTU supports a state pay fixing system based on fair relativity with the private sector, which minimises political interference especially with appointments and promotion and which avoids subjective judgements on rewards, pay rates, etc.

5.2.2 The state pay fixing system must strengthen and support effective, politically neutral, and non-corrupt state services. This requires:

(a) Continuity of staffing;

(b) Political neutrality in appointments, promotions and transfers;

(c) Career based public services;

(d) Minimal opportunity for favouritism, nepotism and corruption. 5.3 Organisation of the State Sector 5.3.1 The NZCTU acknowledges that the Government has a responsibility to the electorate to ensure that the state services function efficiently and economically and that any state service staffing policy must be consistent with the responsibility. However any such staffing policy will not have the support or co-operation of the NZCTU if it is inequitably applied, reduces conditions of employment, causes hazards to safety and health or insecurity of employment for state sector workers or unemployment.

5.3.2 The NZCTU opposes the creation of new Government corporations to take over new or existing state functions, unless the following conditions apply:

(a) Clear and proven advantages, short and long-term, will accrue to taxpayers and consumers;

(b) The conditions of employment of staff, including employment levels, are maintained or improved;

(c) Any alterations in present accountability to central Government can be shown to have benefits for taxpayers and consumers.

5.3.3 The NZCTU affirms its long-held belief that all state bodies should be organised as or incorporated into departments of state unless:

(a) So doing should pose unhealthy conflicts of judicial/judgmental functions versus administrative functions;

(b) The criteria noted above are satisfied.

5.3.4 The NZCTU requests the government to implement those reforms of state sector administration and practice which will allow for efficiency, flexibility and satisfactory of consumer and interest group concerns which a complex multi-cultural society needs.

5.3.5 The NZCTU believes that the Government or, if not, the NZCTU should express fully and in detail the true costs of the abolition of any public service.

5.4 Contracting Out

5.4.1 The NZCTU opposes all contracting out of traditional state service supplies unless such contracts have the prior approval of the appropriate state union.

5.4.2 If contracting out is to occur then it is necessary that the following political demands should be made of the politically responsible authority:

(a) Protection for employees: I.e. the conditions of employment existing in the state sector must not be undermined in any way once an area of work has been contracted out.

(b) Protection for citizens:

(i) The right of all citizens to receive the services offered under equal conditions must be safeguarded. Rights guaranteed by law must be secured if private firms render the services.

(ii) The supply must cover an area over a long period of time. (iii) The citizens must be protected against any possible errors by the private entrepreneur. The system of liability of the private enterprise must be equal to the liability accepted by the public authorities.

(iii) Reliable protection must be secured against a state monopolist dictating prices.

(c) Budgetary considerations:

(i) Contracting out must result in a provable relief of the public budget in question. This relief must be safe-guarded over a long term.

(ii) The possible budgetary relief must be equivalent to a reduction in the price of services to the citizen.

(iv) The budgetary relief must not be brought about by a deterioration of the working and social conditions or the wages of those employed by private firms.

(v) The contracting out of services to public firms, enterprises, or institutions must not cause extra burdens on other parts of the public budget. The possibility of internally balancing the deficits of public enterprises must be maintained. (d) Essential checks:

(i) Before a service is contracted out, precise information must be given about the tasks left to the public institution (including their long term costs, which the private enterprises are not expected to meet).

(ii) The Government should not lose control over the way that tasks that have been contracted out are performed. (iii) Before a service is contracted out, precise information is to be given about the costs of the control system to be established by the state authorities in order to supervise the performance of the task by the private entrepreneur.

5.5 Ministerial Responsibility

5.5.1 The NZCTU is committed to the theory and practice of ministerial responsibility.

5.5.2 The NZCTU believes that individual ministerial responsibility is the cornerstone of a politically neutral, unified, career public service.

5.5.3 The NZCTU adopts the following as its definition of ministerial responsibility. "The Minister accepts responsibility for all actions of his department irrespective of whether they involve fundamental issues of policy, or are merely matters of administrative detail."

5.5.4 In return for the protection from personal public criticism given to them under this doctrine and also for accepting their politically neutral role as a safeguard against politically based appointments to their service, state employees not only offer their minister the best possible advice available but also their undivided loyalty in their working capacity.

5.5.5 It is NZCTU policy therefore that ministers should accept responsibility for the actions of state employees but that in their official capacity state employees should not be involved in party political activities. This does not in any way undermine any state union's commitment to defend the civil liberties and democratic rights of its members who wish to engage in political and similar activities in their capacity as private citizens of this country.

5.6 Broadcasting

5.6.1 The NZCTU views broadcasting in New Zealand within its general context, that is to say as an integral part of the international system of information transfer. This context includes existing and new technologies such as cable television, visible data transmission, direct and indirect broadcasting by satellite, video cassette and the software technologies associated with all of these means of transmission of information. Broadcasting is not just a medium of entertainment but within its general context has implications in the commercial technological, cultural, political and industrial spheres.

5.6.2 The NZCTU believes it to be the task of national radio and television systems to advance the expression of New Zealand cultures and in pursuit of that objective believes that broadcasting should be primarily a public service, publicly owned and accountable through Parliament to the people of New Zealand, but not subject to political interference in its day-to-day operations. Consequently the NZCTU consider that the broadcasting system should be responsive to the whole community and the needs and desires for expression of all groups within that community. To that end it is NZCTU policy that:

(a) There should be the fullest representation of interests on the controlling body of the public broadcasting system and that a conscious effort should be made to ensure this broad representation of interests.

(b) There should be sufficient funding available for an effective public broadcasting service to be provided. The basis of the funding of broadcasting should be by licence, advertising, sales of programmes and other materials, and the provision of services making as much use as possible of new technological developments. We see this mix of funding as a further guarantee of independence from political interference.

(c) There should be opposition to all contracting out of functions to the private sector when these might be adequately handled by the public sector and to the extension of broadcasting for private profit including the introduction of private sector television unless it can be clearly demonstrated that this will be to the advantage of the public and there will be no reduction in programme standards.

5.6.3 The objective of public accountability associated with the maximum independence we consider may best be achieved by:

(a) The development of the role of the Broadcasting Tribunal as a genuinely independent overseeing body in the granting of licences to broadcast. The NZCTU repudiates any role for such a Tribunal which permits it to interfere in the day-to-day programming operations of broadcasting, but sees instead its role as the setting of a general professional standard to be attained.

(b) The creation of a long-term Charter of Incorporation guaranteeing as far as possible the independence of the public broadcasting system and renewable at intervals of not less than six years.

5.6.4 In pursuance of the highest possible standards of programme excellence within the context of the expression of all shades of indigenous culture and support for the domestic programme production industry, the NZCTU supports:

(a) A substantial minimum quota of locally made programmes and advertisements with particular quotas for drama, documentary, news and current affairs and children's programmes.

(b) A commitment to minority access and regional services and the provision of a set percentage of programming for ethnic minorities and shades of opinion.

(c) A commitment to the needs and requirements of educational broadcasting in all its guises.