Dozens of public service jobs cut as rail agencies merged

Dozens of communications staff on Victorian rail projects have had their jobs axed, with some given just a few weeks to find a new role. 

Leaked details of the reorganisation plan for Rail Projects Victoria, which is transitioning to a newly-named Metro Tunnel Project Office, show that 27 positions have been slashed due to the changes, while two positions have been created. 

News of the cuts swept through the public service this week, with a document outlining the “consolidation” sent to some staff before they were told about their job loss in person.

It comes as up to 30 roles at the $35bn Suburban Rail Loop East are set to be made redundant, as well as dozens of positions at Major Roads Projects Victoria across a range of portfolio areas.

A document outlining the RPV changes, obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun, says a decision was made to “streamline” the strategic communications division to reduce role duplications while “economic and market conditions apply pressure to government finances”. 

The new structure is set to be in place by next month, with “unmatched” employees — meaning no similar roles exist for them to apply for — given as few as two weeks to find other positions within the public service before being served a formal notice of termination. 

Staff with ongoing contracts rather than fixed term roles have longer to find a new job, and would be offered redundancy packages if unsuccessful.

It is understood many more positions are being axed across Rail Projects Victoria as the shift to MTPO occurs, including in human resources and business systems.

Rail Projects Victoria is transitioning to the Metro Tunnel Project Office. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

The Community and Public Sector Union accused the government of being careless about the way it established its transport agencies that was now causing pain for workers. 

“The government’s rush and lack of thought when establishing all these build authorities as separate operations has led to this unnecessary heart ache for many employees,” they said. 

Jobs set to be axed at RPV include executive roles with packages worth up to $257,000 a year, as well as a raft of stakeholder engagement, marketing, and design jobs. 

Insiders said the sweeping cuts were a sign the government was tapping the brakes on the Big Build due to capacity constraints and budget woes. 

“Everyone is angry and frustrated but they will have to pick themselves up,” one said. 

The leaked document of the MTPO changes included pictures of employees set to be dumped from the office, as well as a list of positions listed as “abolish”. 

Several positions are for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, which the government put on hold last year during ongoing early works, and which has now been bogged down by a dispute over the location of a station at Tullamarine.

A render of the proposed Melbourne Airport rail link, which has been put on ice.

“Whilst it has been appropriate to have a large division while delivering multiple rail projects, it is important that the new structure and services offered by the division are geared towards supporting the successful delivery of MTP, in a streamlined, efficient, and co-ordinated manner avoiding any duplications of effort,” the document says.

A Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority spokesperson said the Metro Tunnel was progressing from major construction to testing and operations phases so “our crews are being adjusted to reflect changing circumstances”. 

“We know any change can be challenging for our staff and we will work with them during this period to match them to other jobs wherever possible,” they said.

“Victorian Big Build projects have been deliberately set up as a pipeline of work – as some projects are winding down, others are powering up to deliver great long-term jobs for Victorians as well as the infrastructure our state needs.”

Source: Herald Sun