The PSA says the Government needs to have a major re-think over how it goes about its job cuts

The union's filed proceedings with the Employment Relations Authority, claiming the Ministry of Education breached its collective agreement when announcing job cuts.

The authority has found the ministry needs to adopt a case-by-case approach to lay-offs, and has found there was no attempt to engage with the union.

PSA Union Assistant Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says the ministry's approach has caused deep psychological harm.

She says the key to resolving this, is for the ministry take a more flexible approach to voluntary redundancies and reducing its reliance on contractors.

The Ministry says it'll need to consider the implications of the decision.