Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Housing NZ denies doubled workloads

Updated at 1:30 pm on 3 September 2011

Housing New Zealand says claims by the Public Service Association (PSA) that some tenancy manager caseloads will double because of staff cuts is incorrect.

It says fewer than 100 jobs are expected to be lost as a result of a major modernisation of the agency's frontline tenancy services.

The PSA fears that, as a result of the cuts, some tenancy manager portfolios will double; but the chief executive of Housing New Zealand, Lesley McTurk, says that won't happen.

She says tenancy manager administrative tasks will be reduced by 40%, meaning their workload will still be manageable.

The state-servant union's national secretary, Richad Wagstaff, also says that because of the cuts tenancy managers will be expected to go to potentially dangerous houses alone.

He says it would be unacceptable for the police to be asked to pick up the slack and escort staff.

Ms McTurk says however that staff would never be expected to go alone into a house where potentially volatile tenants live.

And she says any threats to staff would result in terminating the tenancy agreement.

The actual job-loss figure won't be known for several months.

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