Human Rights Commission asks staff if they’re interested in voluntary redundancies

Public Service Association assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said a sudden call for voluntary redundancies was "concerning". Photo / Human Rights Commission

Staff at the Human Rights Commission have been invited to express their interest in a voluntary redundancy scheme.

Expressions of interest are open to only permanent employees at the commission, an independent Crown entity that receives government funding.

According to its website, Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission has four commissioners and about 80 staff in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Staff have been told, in an internal email seen by the Herald, to put expressions of interest forward by the end of the day on Wednesday, June 5.

In a statement, chief executive Meg de Ronde said, “It will come as no surprise that there is budget restraint across most areas of the public service, and Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission is no exception.

“We’re working through these constraints via a range of possible measures, which haven’t been formalised at this stage.”

The agency describes itself as advocating and promoting respect for human rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The commission is accredited to participate in the United Nations Human Rights Council, alongside other National Human Rights Institutions, tasked with monitoring and reporting on human rights and investigating potential violations.

In last year’s election campaign, Act proposed cutting public sector jobs back to 2017 levels and abolishing entire agencies, including the Human Rights Commission.

Others Act wanted to see go include ministries for Women, Pacific Peoples, Māori Development, Ethnic Communities and the Office for Māori-Crown Relations Te Arawhiti.

In 2021, Act leader David Seymour also called for the abolition of the Human Rights Commission, after revelations the commission gifted koha to the Waikato chapter of the Mongrel Mob. Seymour said then-Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt had undermined free speech, in a push for new hate speech laws.

“The commission has become a highly politicised, left-wing organisation, and when it comes to actually helping people with human rights, it doesn’t help at all. Act sees no purpose for it and would abolish it completely,” Seymour said.

Public Service Association assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said “the sudden call for voluntary redundancies at the Human Rights Commission is concerning.”

“It’s a critical agency holding the Government and others with power to account. It needs investment to be able to do that job properly.”

Fitzsimons feared it could mean “more discrimination” in New Zealand.

Other agencies have put voluntary redundancy schemes in place in response to the Government’s directive to find cost savings across the public sector.

All Statistics New Zealand staff were invited to apply for voluntary redundancies this month, with applications closing on Thursday, May 16. A prior statement sent to NZME the day after applications closed said “redundancy entitlements are set out in the individual’s employment agreement and as no decisions have been made, it’s too early to determine what that looks like”.

Final decisions on who stays and who goes at Stats NZ will be made by its executive leadership team.

MBIE has confirmed more than 100 voluntary redundancies, looking at a target of saving $412.5 million.

The Ministry for Social Development last week confirmed it had accepted 218 voluntary redundancies. In a prior statement, MSD confirmed it had accepted 200 applications out of 404, but updated the numbers recently “as a result of some staff requests for reconsideration”.

Azaria Howell is a Wellington-based multimedia reporter with an eye across the region. She joined NZME in 2022, and has a keen interest in city council decisions, public service agency reform and transport.