Health and education will be hit the hardest by the 500 additional department job cuts, according to Tasmania’s public sector union.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) branch in Tasmania is predicting an equal sharing-out of the extra pain will cost 200 health jobs and 186 education jobs.
The State Government is refusing to provide a breakdown on the additional savings task for each department, which amount to 500 full-time jobs overall, and are on top of August budget cuts of 700 jobs.
Its original August budget strategy of only 700 job losses targeting backroom jobs relied on savings that would have been delivered by the failed public sector pay freeze.
It has been two weeks since the pay freeze failed and departments were told they needed to find an additional $50 million in savings.
The CPSU’s Tom Lynch said as well as the 200 health and 186 education jobs, 29 primary industry and environment jobs, 23 justice department jobs and 18 police jobs could go.
“I think people will be shocked when they see the degree to which these cuts are going to hit,” he said.
Mr Lynch said the union’s figures were based on each department’s budgets and employee numbers, and showed cutting the 500 jobs was an impossible task.
Tasmania’s Health Minister would not confirm or deny another 200 jobs will go from his portfolio over the next nine months.
The Health and Human Services Department has to save $18.9 million between now and the end of June.
Health Minister Michael Ferguson would not confirm bureaucrats have until Friday to map out how to make the savings.
“We’re not providing a commentary on the savings tasks that will need to be met across the health system, but I hasten to add we’re putting a record investment into health – more than was put into health in last year’s budget,” he said.
“But we believe the savings tasks that agency heads are looking at are modest and can be achieved.”
Premier Will Hodgman rejected suggestions his administration was leaving voters in the dark about how it was going to achieve the savings targets.
He indicated the full details of the budget measures may not be made public until May.
“We will be assessed of course by our progress to fixing the budget mess in the next budget and over the course of time Tasmanians will see whether or not we’ve successfully achieve what we are determined to do, and that is fix what has become an unsustainable budget situation,” he said.
The Police Minister Rene Hidding said explaining the impact on his portfolios was the Premier’s job.
“In a department like education, you’re effectively looking at pulling out one full-time-equivalent teacher out of every school,” he said.
The Government withdrew the wage freeze bill when it met resistance in the Upper House last month, saying 500 more jobs would have to go and frontline jobs could no longer be quarantined.
A spokesman for Treasurer Peter Gutwein said it was all the fault of Labor, the Greens and unions for opposing the pay pause.
Mr Gutwein would not comment on union claims department heads have been given until the end of the week to plan how they will cut the 500 jobs.
A spokesman said Mr Gutwein refused to provide a running commentary.
Nurses warn patient care could suffer
The breakdown came as the nurses’ union warned patient care at the Launceston General Hospital could suffer because of budget measures.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Association said Tasmanian Health Organisation North (THO North) had to find $8 million in savings in nine months.
The Association’s Neroli Ellis said beds could close and service would be reduced.
“There’s no way you can continue to deliver all the services that are currently delivered by THO North,” she said.
“Cutting $8.15 million out of their budget, it’s the equivalent of a whole acute ward funding for one year. So that is a significant cost that’s being requested to be reduced from the THO North. It will have an impact on patient care.”