Another CCC blunder?
January 18th, 2012 at 3:00 pm by David FarrarNewstalkZB reports:
A ‘please explain’ letter has been sent to the chief executive of the Christchurch City Council by a group of his own councillors.
The letter to Tony Marryatt, over the move to relocate the council’s after hours call centre to Palmerston North, was leaked to media yesterday.
I don’t have a problem with out-sourcing generally.
But to have the Christchurch City Council outsource to Palmerston North at the same time as they are urging businesses not to leave Christchurch?
That’s a new level of stupidity.
There seems to be some real problems there. The CEO reappointment process, the CEO salary increase and justification, the attempt to charge quake victims for burial in the special memorial site, and now this.
UPDATE: Not as bad as it first seemed. The original story referred to 18 staff losing their jobs. In fact it seems only one FTE job will be lost. 18 is the total number of staff in the Orion call centre. Six are losing their jobs, but their hours only total 40 hours a week. The decision is still questionable, but one FTE is very different to 18 staff losing jobs.
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- Exploiting the earthquake
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January 18th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
The call centre is intended to be an emergency call centre capable of functioning when something goes down in christchurch. That’s why they were basing it in another city.
[DPF: Then they want a backup call centre, not an after hours one. Huge difference]
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
It also sounds like a case where rates raised has plummetted yet costs are the same (or more likely risen). What is the CCC deficit like this year?
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
PN believe it or not is quite the ‘hub” . Several government depts have there back ups situated there.Its stable and its central and there are other call centers already there
It is certainly the frieght hub .
Call centers are in Mumbai and they speak better english than christchurchers, no big deal
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
I’ve noticed that Public Servants / Troughers only ever compare themselves to their counterparts in private enterprise when it suits them. (E.G. when justifying the salary of a “CEO” who doesn’t have to win business and please customers, only spend his captive budget prudently.)
But any other time, you do as your Gummint masters say, not as they do.
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
What metcalph said: PN is the most sensible place to have these backup resources available – this is sound risk management. Media and self absorbed, dysfunctional council beat up, thought you would have seen that DPF?
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Are you writing for the Press newspaper now, the same line they parotted about the council’s public relations disasters, that does not stack up.
Shifting the call centre makes perfect sense because they can not respond immediately in a disaster by being in Chch where it is happening.
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 3:43 pm
Local government is a crap place to work, the politics is far more vicious than national politics a lot of the time, there are always lots of whingers and moaners about the council yet look at all the stuff they get done like fixing the streets.
Looks to me that a lot of people are taking out their frustrations out on the council over the earthquakes, totally out of their control of course.
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
The main blunder is that shameless populist Johannson is behind this letter. He actually was doing some good work for once just after Feb 22 but it looks like he is back to his old tricks of anything that will get his name in the media.
Now you look at his track record with the Labour Party and why has he not got a nomination for Parliament yet or for the Mayoralty of Christchurch and that speaks volumes I think.
This is the cesspool of local government politics, it pays to have a closer look at who is behind these things before giving them undeserved publicity.
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
@Pauleastbay: Yes, PN has become a call centre hub for councils around the country – good on them! Great business initiative and good cost-sharing by councils. No need for them all to have their own after-hours staff.
Vote:@Swampy: hear, hear!
January 18th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
There is a difference between an after hours call centre and a backup call centre. Of course a back up call centre is out of the city, but you just need the phone number to switch over in case of a disaster.
The after hours call centre has 18 staff so obviously doesn’t just operate in disasters.
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
There seems to be some real problems there. The CEO reappointment process, the CEO salary increase and justification, the attempt to charge quake victims for burial in the special memorial site, and now this.
The CEO reappointment process was just politicking by a minority of the city council who tried to sabotage it by alleging conflict of interest based on a stupid legal opinion by Mai Chen (some fool tried to obtain a legal injunction based on the opinion and ended up getting their arse kicked and having to pay costs).
The CEO salary increase was justified (and I speak as someone who would want to have a pay packet the size of his increase). If it had not been made, Marryatt could have taken the council to the cleaners. It only became an issue when the Council didn’t have the balls to do it at the same time as his reappointment and did it instead just before the xmas holidays when thye hoped nobody would be interested.
The charge for the quake victims at the memorial was some middle manager cockup who compounded the error by not telling his bosses about it when the Press started asking questions about it.
But then this has been part of the downside of living in Christchurch after the quakes. People having been venting over the most stupid stuff (Oh noes, the mean nasty art centre won’t let Richard Sinte reopen the Dux-de-lux) to such an extent that it’s become as unpleasant as an aftershock.
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Reasoning behind the councils thinking
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/6232972/Orion-call-centre-staff-lose-jobs
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 5:27 pm
The after hours call centre has 18 staff so …………
Good god, it not Los Angles FFS
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 7:11 pm
metcalph,
Why could have he taken them to the cleaners if he didn’t get the increase??? Does the council have to give him a 14.4% increase every 2 years or else they get sued? How retarded is that?!
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Only in NZ can a couple of call centre jobs become such a circus.
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 8:17 pm
“But to have the Christchurch City Council outsource to Palmerston North at the same time as they are urging businesses not to leave Christchurch?”
and in your next post your praising the sale of the Crafar farms to the Chinese.
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
We will be removing Mayor PARKER and his idiot CEO Tony MARRYAT at next elections.
Vote:Preferably we should lynch them upside down from a tree in Hagley park.
January 18th, 2012 at 8:47 pm
Another Blunder:
According to the TVNZ news tonight, it was CCC who forced the change in design of the Grand Chancellor Hotel which was responsible for it breaking with the Feb 11 earthquake.
The CCC had to front up and say why they forced that change. They passed the ball to the structural engineers…
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Why could have he taken them to the cleaners if he didn’t get the increase??? Does the council have to give him a 14.4% increase every 2 years or else they get sued? How retarded is that?!
Marryatt’s responsibilities increased massively as a result of February 22nd. The size of the increase was the result of an independent salary review. Welshing on a salary review is a good way to get into serious trouble in front of any employment relations authority.
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 9:31 pm
The CCC had to front up and say why they forced that change.
It’s clear why they forced the change – to keep a right of way open. The building didn’t fail because of this. It failed because the design change was inadequate in terms of earthquake resistance and the deficiency wasn’t picked up on.
Vote:January 18th, 2012 at 10:13 pm
They are switching an after hours call centre. Whether it is in hours or after hours is irrelevant. Both are affected equally if there is an earthquake.
The whole story is another typical example of mindless politicking. The councillors are being orchestrated by a rampant populist and master media manipulator who gets his name and photo in the paper about ten times more often than all the rest of them put together.
Vote:January 19th, 2012 at 6:36 am
metcalph,
So you’re saying it’s only fair council CEOs get paid the same as those in the private sector, despite them not having to worry about sales or having to make a profit? Why should they have it that much easier than those in the private sector? Also, is a report less than one A4 sheet really a long enough report for a $68,000 per year pay rise?
Vote:January 19th, 2012 at 6:50 am
“There seems to be some real problems there”
This video, the only one posted on YouTube by our deputy mayor, might help to show why:
Vote:
January 19th, 2012 at 9:45 am
“metcalph (737) Says:
…… Marryatt’s responsibilities increased massively as a result of February 22nd”
Did they really? He has told us he had to work 9 weekends in row (albeit with time for golf on 2 of those)
Vote:Did the council staff, police, A&E workers, Hospital workers, Fire Brigade, et all receive 14% extra ? I doubt it
January 19th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Joe Bennett is not a fan of Town Clerk Tony Marryatt:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/columnists/joe-bennett/6273320/Marryatt-L-Oreal-man-cause-hes-worth-it
Vote:January 19th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Joe Bennet is a satirist
Vote:January 19th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
“UPDATE: Not as bad as it first seemed.”
Another Johannson pathetic grandstand that goes nowhere.
Vote:January 19th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Swampy
Steady now Lianne Dalziel is next ChCh mayor. Don’t rock the boat.
Vote:Jim Andy lost it so he is now backing Dalziel and the Party system, which is actually good in ChCh.
January 19th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
“Swampy (243) Says:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Joe Bennet is a satirist”
That is correct – but many a true word is spoken in jest – as per the exerpt below.
“The sickness, as always, shows up in the language. Mr Marryatt, for example, is known as a CEO. But he is not a CEO. A CEO runs a competitive business that has to earn money. The council is a monopoly that does not have to earn money. It just demands money from ratepayers. So Mr Marryatt’s job is merely to oversee the spending of a guaranteed income. Spending is easier than earning. “
Vote:January 19th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Dalziel supposedly – I would think Peter Beck would have a much better chance of winning. Dalziel is too petty and vindictive – remember how she got sacked from Cabinet.
Vote:January 19th, 2012 at 7:11 pm
Whilst it may be true he does not have to risk spending his own money, he is still subject to extremely intense scrutiny from councillors and the public. Let’s face it, when hasn’t a CEO of the council been controversial in living memory?
Vote:January 19th, 2012 at 10:40 pm
Swampy – In Marryatts case I think the issue is that although he may be under “pressure” from the public – he can and does simply ignore it. I would venture that CEOs prior to Lesley McTurk were not controversial – I cant even recall their names!
Vote: