Auckland's skilled and experienced local body workforce is vital to the success of the super city, the Public Service Association (PSA) says.
The Auckland governance legislation select committee is considering almost 2500 submissions on the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill.
PSA national secretary Richard Wagstaff today said Aucklanders relied on local body workers for essential services such as water, roads and rubbish removal.
"Our concern is that the Government is putting these services at risk because its super city plan fails to ensure that we hold on to the workers who provide these services," he told the committee.
The Royal Commission, which considered the proposal, had recognised the risk and recommended the workforce be retained during the transition to a single council. However, the Government had rejected that and instead given the Auckland Transition Agency the job of rationalising the workforce.
This had created huge levels of uncertainty and anxiety among Auckland's local government workers, who had no idea if their jobs were about to be cut, he said.
"Our message to the select committee is that the Government needs to stop putting the delivery of services to 1.4 million Aucklanders at risk."
