OVER 800 jobs along the North Coast are in danger of being cut, according to the Public Service Association (PSA) of New South Wales (NSW).
The warning comes after the O’Farrell Government’s 2011 and 2012 budgets outlined how 15,000 of the state’s public service jobs could be cut – 6000 of which in regional NSW and 888 in the state’s North Coast region.
The PSA announcement follows an examination of data obtained under the NSW Government Information (Public Access) Act, which the group used to model how the 15,000 job cuts would occur in each electorate.
PSA General Secretary Anne Gardiner said there was no community in NSW immune to the government’s public service job cuts.
“You can’t cut 15,000 public service jobs without hitting service delivery and local economies across the state,” she said.
“Public service workers are everywhere – managing our national parks, supporting students in TAFEs and schools, implementing public health programs and running our prisons.”
On the North Coast, major public service workplaces include NSW Public Works at Lismore and local education support staff, while many jobs losses have already occurred as a result of the Grafton Correctional Facility closure.
The government has stated that teachers, nurses, police and emergency service workers will be exempt from the cuts.
For further information visit http://psa.asn.au/jobcuts
