Most Opposition voters believed the public service had worsened, while only 9% of National voters felt the same way. Just over half of National voters said the sector had improved.<\/p>\n
The difference in opinions was less stark for NZ First and Act voters. Some 37% of NZ First voters and 20% of Act voters said the public service had worsened, while 22% and 37% respectively said it had improved.<\/p>\n
Addressing what National saw as backroom bloat in the public service was a key campaign pitch for the party in the 2023 election<\/a>. Since then, the Government has made major changes to education, such as scrapping the country\u2019s national secondary school qualification<\/a>; to welfare, by tightening access to emergency housing and benefits; and in health, by cutting the M\u0101ori Health Authority. <\/p>\n Willis holds the public service and finance portfolios. She has called for major job cuts in public service over the past two years, saying each department needs to tighten its belt in a poor, post-Covid economy and amid growing public servant numbers. <\/p>\n The Talbot Mills polling<\/a> was conducted before the latest round of job cuts affecting nearly 9000 workers was announced as part of a wider public sector overhaul from which the Government expects to save $2.4 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Increasing artificial intelligence (AI) use would also improve productivity and deliver better value for money, Willis said.<\/p>\n PSA\u2019s national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said there was \u201cno evidence to support the Government\u2019s claims that AI can replace public servants\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the next three years, if these cuts are rolled out, New Zealanders will see the services they rely on eroded further, which is why we are running a strong campaign to oppose the re-election of the coalition Government.\u201d<\/p>\n Employment law overhaul<\/p>\n The Government is making major reforms to the country\u2019s employment law, including repealing the Holidays Act and replacing it with the new Employment Leave Act. This, the Government says, is to simplify a complex system that many employers have struggled to interpret.<\/p>\n Annual leave and sick leave<\/a> would be based on the hours worked, rather than the current lump sum of four weeks\u2019 annual leave and 10 days\u2019 sick leave. Part-time workers are currently entitled to the same number of sick days as fulltime workers. Under the new approach, leave would be accrued at a rate equating to four weeks of annual leave if completing 40-hour weeks (so those who work fewer than 40 hours would receive less leave).<\/p>\n The Talbot Mills polling asked people: as you may be aware, the Government are making changes to holidays and leave legislation. The Government says the changes will simplify the rules, but opponents say they will result in less pay and leave for part-time workers, those on irregular hours, and others. Do you think the Government\u2019s proposed changes to holidays and sick leave will likely benefit working people or employers more? <\/p>\n Some 41% of respondents said the reforms would benefit employers more and 11% said working people would benefit most. <\/p>\n Under the current system<\/a>, several calculations and comparisons are used to reflect leave pay rates for employees who work non-standard hours. Under the new system, all leave would be paid at an hourly rate based on the worker\u2019s lowest hourly rate payable for the day the leave is taken.<\/p>\n Fitzsimons said the employment reforms favoured employees over workers, and part-time workers would bear the brunt of the changes. <\/p>\n \u201cWe call on National and NZ First to stop the Employment Leave Bill from progressing. No political party should cut the pay of workers during a cost-of-living crisis,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n