The union representing workers in The Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA), CPSU, has welcomed the comments of Veteran Affairs Secretary, Ms Liz Crosson. Yesterday, Ms Cosson pointed to a need for extra staff and noted her agency had been hit by the ‘efficiency dividend’, essentially an ongoing reduction in funding.
CPSU Deputy National President Lisa Newman said, “We must get more secure public service jobs in the Department, as years of cuts have eroded Veterans Affairs’capacity to deliver its functions. The demands of digitisation have increased pressure on our services and force agencies to choose between areas of work and prioritisation. Veterans Affairs simply isn’t funded or staffed to get the job done and make the service more accessible to veterans.
“The Average Staffing Level (ASL) cap has driven outsourcing to labour hire companies and contractors. The damage caused by Budget cuts and under-resourcing has reached a point where the impact is obvious, with veterans seeing the effects of diminished services. Our veterans deserve quick access to preventative and other care with a minimal amount of delay. Yet, we have seen more than 16% of secure jobs cut in DVA since the Government came to power in 2013.
“We want to see DVA, and other agencies, provide the best service possible. That’s why our members work in these agencies- to serve the community. This means we need more secure jobs and enough funding to deliver”.
