'Virtual jobs' to replace IRD staff

File photo

Nearly 200 IRD jobs will be slashed from Inland Revenue Department offices across New Zealand, a union representing public sector workers says.

Figures revealed by the Public Service Union today show 191 IRD jobs will be cut in Invercargill, Nelson, Rotorua, Napier and New Plymouth sites as the organisation undergoes a national restructure.

Some of the lost work will be transferred to positions at metropolitan hubs that can be done anywhere, labelled "virtual jobs", the union said.

It said the cuts follow 30 IRD job losses in Greymouth, Timaru and Gisborne.

PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff said the move would rip jobs away from provincial New Zealand.

"Provincial New Zealand needs more jobs, not less.

"There's a scarcity of work in provincial NZ... Good jobs bring benefits for the whole community, so local businesses are impacted when jobs go."

Wagstaff said a second phase of the restructure would see medium sites in Invercargill, Nelson, Rotorua, Napier and New Plymouth slashed from 345 to 154 staff.

Representatives from the PSA were planning to meet with members in the next few days to consider the impact of the recent cuts and develop a response.

- NZ HERALD ONLINE / NEWSTALK ZB