On the eve of the Budget ACC has confirmed that 220 jobs are being axed, bringing the total number of public sector jobs lost this year to about 1,200, says Labour's State Services Spokesperson Grant Robertson.

"ACC has confirmed 150 contractors have already lost their jobs and restructuring of ACC's head office will result in another 70 staff losing their jobs.

"Up to 180 staff will be affected by the head office restructure but there will be a total of 70 fewer positions we're told," says Grant Robertson.

"These are real people with families to support, and this announcement further undermines National's claim that protecting jobs is a priority for this Government.

"National has already been responsible for nearly 1000 people being put out of work in the state sector, including 200 in the very agency that is charged with looking after the unemployed.

"Today another 220 jobs have gone at ACC, or are in the process of going, bringing that total up to around 1200.

"We've already had the ACC Minister threatening to remove ACC entitlements that New Zealanders rely on and the jobs cuts signal this is likely to be just around the corner.

"Since National have come into power we have seen them repeatedly cut jobs in the state sector on the grounds that there has been a blowout in expenditure in recent years," Grant Robertson says.

"Figures collated by the OECD, and published by BERL last week show that this claim is rubbish and is simply National's excuse for job cuts."

"The OECD figures show current government spending as percentage of GDP (18.8%) was essentially on average been the same for the last 30 years."

"While it's all very well for National to claim it is shifting services to the front line, the experience of the 1990s tells us that without adequate support staff, the public will get a lower quality of service from 'frontline' staff.