Payroll Impacts on Jobs as Health Restructure is Unveiled

More than half of the job losses announced as a part of the reform of Queensland Health today are directly attributed to hundreds of millions of dollars in cost blow-outs associated with the former Labor Government’s bungled health payroll system.

Health Minister, Lawrence Springborg, said the size of Queensland’s Health’s workforce for 2012/13 was expected to be a strong 66,110 (full-time-equivalents) employees following a 4 per cent reduction in staff announced today.

Mr Springborg chose to outline the impacts of long overdue reform to Queensland Health staff himself by way of a video address at 10am this morning.

At the completion of the long-awaited corporate restructure of Queensland Health, Mr Springborg said the department’s corporate head office had been re-designed as a system manager in support of hospital boards and devolved decision-making state-wide.

“In dollar terms, the budgetary starting point for these changes was a reduction of $326M,” Mr Springborg said. “That meant Queensland Health was staring down the barrel of statewide FTE reductions of 4142. But at the end of this process, that monetary target will be achieved with an overall staff reduction of just 4 per cent or 2754 FTE.”

Queensland Health head office will lose 1217 FTE jobs, or 43 per cent of its current workforce, leaving it 1441 FTE employees.

But the minister went on to attack the former government and the current opposition – laying blame for losses of 1537 FTE jobs in local health services, on Labor and the $150m cost, this year alone, of its bungled health payroll system.

“There is an undeviating correlation between the payroll costs covered up by Labor and the burden faced by Hospital and Health Boards,” he said.

“Every board has an increased budget in 2012-13, but they are fighting the Labor tradition of chronic over-expenditure and carrying the burden of the dysfunctional Labor payroll,” he said.

“Every person that loses their job in Queensland Health outside of head office can thank the former Labor government and the unions that continue to defend it.”

Mr Springborg said that of $1.25billion lost in the payroll debacle, $537 million was unfunded over the next five years and the majority would have to be found through efficiencies in hospital and health services.

“We will continue to fight to reduce the impact of this disaster,” the minister said. “But on the figures from KPMG, a $150m impost equates to 1500 full-time positions. This is the same estimated number of over-establishment full-time staff employed in Queensland Hospital and Health Services at the change of Government.

“Hospital and Health Boards will work with their employees to reach these targets with priority given to natural attrition, the abolition of vacant positions, voluntary redundancies and redeployment.

“Depending on the measures they employ, this will cost Hospital and Health Services up to 1537 FTEs.”

The Minister said he regretted the need for redundancies as part of the corporate restructure.
“Queensland Health will communicate openly with those affected; and every employee will be treated with respect and dignity,” he said. “Those whose positions are made surplus will be offered voluntary redundancies, or may seek the option of redeployment.”

“Just as I take full responsibility for the corporate changes, so too the Leader of the Opposition must take full responsibility for job losses that are a direct result of her former Government’s payroll disaster.”

Contact: Cameron Thompson 0407-585230   Clare Mildren  0417 255 284