Community groups and employment agencies will closely watch this review, as the CEG agency has been the major source of government funding for innovative locally-driven employment projects.

With the advent of the WINZ department last October, the future of CEG has been a continuing question. Many observers have speculated that CEG's national and regional management will go, and the local field workers will be placed under the jurisdiction of the thirteen WINZ Regional Commissioners. Many of CEG's major programmes (such as Business Grow, Mature Employment Service, Be Your Own Boss courses etc.) have been on an "exit strategy" for some time now.

Rankin: "I consider the work undertaken by Community Employment to be a vital element in the achievement of our business goals, mission and vision. I believe the flexibility of approach displayed by field workers combined with the efforts of other frontline staff will improve outcomes around the development of employment opportunities in communities ..."

Source _ The Head Line letter to staff 10 March 1999 by Christine Rankin

" The frustration students feel is enormous. Students must have access to their allowance when they return to study. And government organisations must deliver the best possible service ..."

McCardle: " The current process, which uses new technology and systems, does need improvement in some areas, and those are being made ... but WINZ is now paying allowances to many more students than last year, when tertiary institutions and the Ministry of Education handled the process.

" WINZ has received more than 50,000 applications and three quarters of these students have received their first payment in the week it was due. This is faster than in previous years. Of the remaining applications yet to be finalised, further information is required from either institutions or the students themselves.

Sources _ "Work and Income Delivering Results" press release WINZ Christine Rankin 17 March 1999; "Call for enquiry into student allowance chaos" press release Rod Donald 17 March 1999; "Labour: WINZ not working for students" press release Steve Maharey 22 March 1999; "Student Allowance Delays Not New" press release from Peter McCardle 18 March 1999; "Student Allowance Delays Not New" press release from Peter McCardle 18 March 1999

As at 31 December 1998 the total of people working on the Community Work programme was 8,734.

Emergency Benefit numbers fell by 5.6% over the last 12 months. WINZ says this is partly due to work testing resulting in transfer of some beneficiaries to the Community Wage (Job Seeker) category.

Source _ Work and Income NZ Quarterly Administrative Statistics for quarter ended December 1999.

John Stephenson of WINZ confirms that participation in Community Work is voluntary for part-time work-tested Domestic Purposes and Widows beneficiaries. The "focus population" of the Community Work programme is limited to Community Wage recipients and full-time work-testable beneficiaries.

Source _ papers from Pip Desmond, NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations; interviews with Ivan Sowry and John Stephenson by Shirley Vickery of The Jobs Letter.

The papers are available from the Summit committee at Private Bag 11-042, Palmerston North or on the internet at http://www.geocities.com/~ubinz/IR/1999summit/

Source _ press release from Ian Ritchie 17 March 1999

Source _ Judy Reinken, statistics based on 1996 Census of Population and Dwellings

Dubbed "the most dangerous man in Europe" by Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers, and "Red Oskar" by his critics in Germany, Lafontaine was considered by many as one of the most gifted politicians of his generation. The Guardian last week said that he was perhaps the only leader left in Europe who was committed to and capable of restoring a Keynesian economic framework with its emphasis on cutting unemployment. The challenge for the six-month old German government now is to forge new economic policies in the face of a continuing rise in joblessness.

Source _ The Guardian Weekly 21 March 1999 "Oscar's exit brings cheer to markets" by martin Walker; "Some cheer at Oskar's going" editorial The Guardian Weekly 21 March 1999

The strong emphasis in the agreement on shorter hours is due to the bargaining policies of the local unions, who have been calling for employers to reduce work times while simultaneously boosting employment.

Even more cuts in working hours are on the cards, as the new agreement also provides for voluntary moves to a 32-hour, four-day week. It is up to each work unit to decide whether they want this and, if so, how they will put it into practice.

Those who opt for the 32-hour week will receive 97% of full pay (with 99% for the lower-wage workers). The new measures are to be financed partly from union's resources, partly through state schemes and partly through restraint in wage increases.

The local union FCE-CFDT is arguing strongly in favour of the 32-hour option: "This is because the employment effects are greater. It is an opportunity for everyone to organise their work on the basis of a four-day week. A 32-hour week is also the best route to an innovative work organisation that reconciles individual aspirations with the requirements of public service, in the context of the opening up to competition ..."

Source International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) statement "French Power And Gas Deal Boosts Jobs Through Work Time Cuts"

VOICES: ON CRITICISMS OF WORK AND INCOME NZ
" The new organisation is in chaos. While the new signs might be up and the desks are kept clear ... staff morale is low, computer integration is limited, processing of student allowances is in chaos and successful programmes such as local employment co-ordinators and the Community Employment Group are being restructured out of existence.

" The student allowance crisis is no accident. It is symptomatic of the approach WINZ has taken to all of its `customers'. There appears to be time and money for mock wedding breakfasts for management, road shows and corporate videos but insufficient planning and attention to detail to ensure that quality service is delivered.

" The dismantling of the previous system of direct processing of student allowances by tertiary institutions, and the consequent massive loss of institutional knowledge, has clearly contributed to the current crisis.

" The WINZ project managers, their chief executive and the Minister should all be held to account for the current shambles. They had full knowledge of the likely work-load before taking over student allowances but clearly ignored the advice they were given ..."
-- Rod Donald, Green Party Co-leader

" Work and Income NZ touches the lives of over 900,000 New Zealanders. We do so through the dedicated and skilled application of over 4,500 staff who work tirelessly to deliver a top line service. For Mr Donald to suggest otherwise is simply an indication that he is not in touch with what is really happening at a grass roots level ...

" WINZ has achieved what no other social service organisation had been able to do before an integrated approach to customer management which addressed the entire cycle of benefit assessment, benefit payment, training and employment.

" Mr Donald's speculations verge on being irresponsible and will cause a great deal of anguish within the department.

" I stand by what I know Work and Income NZ is achieving for New Zealand and I stand by my staff who are making these achievements possible ..."
-- Christine Rankin, WINZ Chief Executive

" Some of the Opposition spin-doctoring on Work and Income NZ is just self-serving puffery, and clearly part of a deliberate strategy to undermine WINZ and its one stop shop structure.

" I take valid criticism of WINZ seriously, and in recent weeks have required the department to urgently address performance in relation to student allowances, and procedures around confidentiality.

" However WINZ does its job very well overall. It is the country's newest and biggest department. It has over 4,500 staff, spends over $10 billion in taxpayers' money per year, and over $600 million in wages and programmes.

" Despite its petty criticism, Labour has publicly admitted the one stop shop is the way to go, and it certainly is. WINZ will save the taxpayer around $15 million a year because it is more efficient than its preceding three separate services. Naturally, it costs money to set up the new organisation.

"Yet, despite this, Opposition MPs grandstand on every piece of trivia they can get, or invent, about WINZ to advance their own cause. They waste both staff time and tens of thousands of dollars of public money asking ridiculous Parliamentary Questions on everyday spending such as carpets, desks, name badges, training sessions and management meetings which are standard for any large organisation ..."
-- Peter McCardle, Associate Work and Income Minister

" It is sad to see the Associate Minister of Work and Income spinning so wildly out of control in the face of valid criticism of the performance and focus of Work and Income New Zealand.

" It is the Opposition's duty to question the questionable. We can hardly be blamed when the department he is responsible for provides so much ammunition ..."
--Steve Maharey, Labour social welfare spokesperson