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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 2 Hansard (10 March) . . Page.. 514 ..

ACTEW - Mitchell Depot

MR RUGENDYKE: My question is to the Chief Minister, Mrs Carnell. Chief Minister, during the ACTEW debate, my discussions with interested bidders indicated that they regarded ACTEW's blue-collar work force as equal to or better than the best in the world. Given this, why is it, as I understand, necessary for ACTEW to have seven managers to supervise about 20 of the world's best blue-collar workers at ACTEW's Mitchell depot?

MS CARNELL: I do not know, and it seems like a lot to me.

MR RUGENDYKE: As ACTEW is to have a 10 per cent cut to the work force in the next two years, could you advise the Assembly where those cuts are likely to be made, given that ratio of managers to blue-collar workers?

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, the CEO of ACTEW, John Mackay, did put out a statement on this prior to the debate in this place on the sale of ACTEW and he made it very clear that if we maintained ownership in public hands certain things would have to happen to ACTEW. He has made clear that that will mean a cut in staff of up to 10 per cent over the next couple of years. I think he has also made the point that the focus of that will be at the management end; that already the blue-collar workers in ACTEW have been reduced over time. That does not mean that no blue-collar workers will go, but it does mean that, of the 10 per cent that will have to go as a result of a vote in this place, the management will be the target.

MR HARGREAVES: My question is to the Minister for Urban Services. This morning the general manager of CityScape, Allan Eggins, was on ABC radio speaking about the job losses at CityScape. His estimate is that 100 jobs will be lost. Will the Minister confirm that CityScape plans to axe 100 jobs? Why did the Minister say yesterday in question time, I believe, that 12 officers were providing the service at Woden/Weston at present, and not the 30 to 35 as is really the case? Was he trying to hide the extra 20 targeted for redundancy?

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, CityScape, for some time now, has been working to change its work force and its work practices. What we have is a full-time work force, whereas what we need is a concentration of workers, certainly in spring and summer, particularly when the grass arrives. We have a very busy time in the summer and a very quiet time in the winter. I understand they have been working to bring the total number of employees down to some 120.

Mr Hargreaves, if I recall yesterday's question, asked about the number of employees that Excell would employ and the number of employees that CityScape had said that they would employ in their contract. CityScape nominated 12 as the number of employees

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