Novopay provider Talent2 were unwilling to staff a call centre for stricken teachers in the week before Christmas, documents show.
Then-Associate Education Minister Craig Foss had to call chief executive John Rawlinson to intervene.
But it gets even better. Back in 2011, when the system was already late, they threatened to walk unless the government gave them a handout. National caved and paid them. Then last year, when they were two years late and the Ministry were threatening to issue a breach of contract notice against them, they threatened legal action and demanded that the Ministry cease "excessive" reviews of its (non) performance. Classy.
And the underlying reason? They lowballed the contract, of course.
Talent2 has found it more difficult and more expensive to deliver on its contract commitments than it originally estimated, but this does not mean the ministry must accept a higher price or a reduced scope.
So, thanks to National we're stuck with a bunch of hyper-aggressive Aussie lowballers who are still failing to deliver the service they have been contracted and paid to provide. They're so shit the government has now been forced to sign a backup contract with Datacom for the services they should be getting from Novopay. They should send the bill for that to Talent2.