Sir Brian Roche: Public Service Commissioner speaks ahead of Thursday's mega-strike

The Public Service Commissioner is suggesting unions are striking to get it out of their system. 

At least 100,000 workers in health, education and public service are walking off the job tomorrow, protesting pay and conditions. 

Some picketing's moving indoors and some rallies cancelled in Wellington and Canterbury - with extreme bad weather looming.  

Commissioner Sir Brian Roche says despite him being willing, unions haven't stepped up to negotiate for the most of the past two weeks. 

"It just seems to me, based on my engagement with the unions, that they had to do this for reasons that escape me. I think it was all avoidable, it's extremely regrettable." 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good afternoon. About one hundred thousand teachers, doctors, nurses, dentists
and social workers are going on strike tomorrow. Unions have
had to call off their allies in Wellington and the
South Island because of the bad weather that's been forecast
for tomorrow and at Albert Mills. Poll out today suggests
sixty five percent of key we support the mega strike,
twenty five don't. In the twenty five percent don't and
the rest don't care. Sir Brian Roach is the Public

(00:21):
Service Commissioner.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hi, Brian, good after thing.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Are you still negotiating down to the last minute to
try to call the strike off.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
No, we haven't been able to negotiate for the best
part of the last two weeks because we reached the
decision after the outcome of the PPTA engagement that we
weren't ever going to be able to reach an agreement
before the strike happened. People need to get it out
of their system and then get back to the table.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
What do you mean people have to get it out
of their system.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
It just seems to me, based on my engagement with
the unions, that they had to do this for reasons
that escaped me. I think it was all avoidable. It's
extremely regrettable. We remain available and this is all a
matter of public record. We offered to work all weekend
all of those things. They were rejected, So there was
just no point to mislead anyone to think we were

(01:10):
going to get anything done before the strike. The one
ray of hope is one of the smaller unions who
turned up. They were appropriately mandated. We did a deal
and it's been agreed by their members. They've now got
cash in their pockets moving on and that's the way
we need to Those are the principles, right, correct, Yeap.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Are you surprised by the poll out today that suggests
that two thirds of Keywis actually support the mega strike?

Speaker 2 (01:38):
I do, But there's a really wide range of views
about the meritsis strikes. I mean, those are all very personal.
My job is to find a way through a bargaining round,
which is really challenging. I remained really committed to doing
that as as my team.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
What do you think about the suggestion of changing the
law in order to prevent some of the essential workers
like healthwork, from being able to do a strike like this.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Look, that's ultimately a matter for the politicians. I think
there is precedent for that overseas, but you know, as
I understand it, that's not something that's currently occupying the
minds of many in a political sense.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Are you still running those Facebook ads about the strike.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
We have as it today? And you know, once again
the background to that is to make sure we use
all available channels to get our message out because our
message has been contorted and I think manipulated by various
sort of unions. And that's regrettable because we've got a
very clear conscience of the way we've done this. We've
approached it professionally, we continue to be available. There has

(02:41):
not been substantive engagement from our counterparty.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Brian, you sound really frustrated, are you.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
I'm not overly frustrated. I'm frustrated on behalf of New
Zealand because we could have avoided all of the inconvenience
of tomorrow, and that's on other people's conscience, it is
not on that of the public service. I'm committed to
making sure that we get an outcome. I want that
done on a timely basis and I want to avoid
further disruption.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
So what do you think is going to happen once
they get the strike out of their systems. Do you
think a bunch of these agreements are going to be
wrapped up really quickly.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
I don't know, because it requires two people at the table.
At the moment, we've really only substantially had one. And
you know, we have done all the running. We have
put three offers in front of the PPTA, for instance,
and we have been unable to get them back to
the table despite our offers to work day and night
and weekends. That what's why we made that offer was

(03:38):
to avoid the disruption last week and the disruption tomorrow.
The fact that they chose otherwise and didn't even put
that offer to their members is for them to have
on their conscience. I'm really clear on that, Brian.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Thank you very much, sir Brian Roach, Public Service Commissioner.
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