Victoria's Department of Health has announced the creation of a new ‘razor gang’ to  slash jobs.

Led by Euan Wallace, the Secretary of the Department of Health, the team includes Jeremi Moule, head of Premier and Cabinet, and David Martine from the Department of Treasury and Finance.

The Labor government plans to eliminate 4,000 positions in the public sector as part of an effort to reduce state debt.

This move has sparked immediate backlash from powerful unions in the heavily industrialised Victorian public service.

Wallace says that the newly-established “Health Finance Board” will initially meet weekly to identify areas for cuts. 

The Victorian branch of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) expressed disappointment and raised concerns about the lack of consultation with employees. 

The CPSU has been actively advocating for job protection, focusing on cutting labour hire and consultancy duplication. 

The union has requested information on the number and identity of affected employees, but the departments involved have been unresponsive. 

The CPSU is pushing for a strategy that prioritises redeployment of staff based on skills, rather than indiscriminately meeting job reduction targets. 

While the job cuts are virtually inevitable, negotiations between the government and unions are ongoing.