Staff morale goes south

24th August 2009

Craig Warhurst

MORALE is down in Gympie's Department of Main Roads office, according to Queensland Public Service Union representative Paul Church.

Mr Church said people were looking over their shoulders and are having to compete with each other to secure one of the 21 jobs that will remain in Gympie's Main Roads office after jobs are relocated to Maroochydore and Caboolture.

He has organised a petition to try and stop the relocation and said there was an amount of distrust towards senior management in the department.

Mr Church said he didn't think any amount of assurances about forced relocations or job losses would help until something came in writing.

The department have assured there is no plan to force any employee to relocate, or cut overall job numbers in the Gympie/Sunshine Coast area.

Yet Mr Church said the office as it stands would cease to exist.

“As people here retire or move away their jobs won't be replaced (in Gympie),” he said.

From 130 jobs there will be 21 working from Gympie under the supervision of Bundaberg regional office.

And he doesn't know why as the Gympie office has always done a good job; but he thinks the reason is political in nature.

Mr Church, who has no intention of moving, said there would be no job advancement opportunities if people stayed in Gympie and the $20-30 million of salaries would be lost to the Gympie region.

Local state LNP member David Gibson, who is sponsoring the petition, said he was concerned.

Mr Gibson said family incomes would be lost and Gympie's immunity from the global financial crisis would decline.

He said relocating the staff was not a cost effective move for the department and it wasn't about what was best for Main Roads, but implementing a government policy.

The department said they were moving the jobs after a review of regional boundaries stemming from local government amalgamations and believed it would ensure better delivery.