Sir Brian Roche: Public Service Commissioner on the ongoing pay negotiations with primary school teachers

The Public Service Commissioner is bewildered as pay talks with primary teachers drag on. 

Their union —the NZEI— has turned to the Employment Relations Authority after three days of talks failed to resolve disputes over cost-of-living increases and recognition for major curriculum changes. 

The union's rejected three offers, with teachers missing out on around $50 extra per week since January. 

Sir Brian Roche told Mike Hosking it's disappointing teachers don't know the details of each offer. 

He says the last time teachers were asked was in December, and he doesn't know what the percentage of the vote was. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What is it about the primary Teachers' union that seemingly
everyone else in the public service can sign off a
deal but they can't. Union now wants facilitated bargaining. Trouble
for the actual teachers is the longer this goes, the
more backpay they miss out on. Currently they're not getting
seventy six dollars a week. So Brian Roach as the
Public Service Commissioner, of course, and is back with us,
a very good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Is the treaty still an issue for them.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
That seems to have dropped away? Are we? But you
know I've written to them a number of times reminding
them that we are here to deal with terms and conditions.
I remain really committed to that, and I'm deeply frustrated
and somewhat be boilded that they are holding out for
something that we're not going to be able to deliver
the teacher.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Do the teachers know what they're being offered at the
moment that they've seen it?

Speaker 2 (00:45):
They weren't offered by their union our last offer to them,
which I find really disappointing. What would the downside be
of giving somebody the choice? The last time they were
asked was prior to Christmas. We didn't get a year's vote,
but we don't know what the percentage of that vote was.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
So how do you know that anybody's told it? How
does that? See? I'm not a unionist, never have been.
I don't know how this works. So on my behalf
as a teacher, the union goes away and does whatever
they do with you, and they may or may not
come back to me and tell me what's going on.
Is that how that works?

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Correct? They may or may not, and they may endorse
and they may not endorse. So it's a really great question.
You know, where is the value proposition that they're adding here?
Because we feel very strongly that teachers have been deprived
of cash in their hand every month by the last union.
All the others seem to have found a way through,

(01:37):
but they seem to find that very difficult.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
So whose interests are they looking after that? If they
don't go back to the people who employ them, whose
interests are they looking up?

Speaker 2 (01:46):
That's a very open question. I mean, they work very
hard for their union members, there's no question about that,
and provide a range of services, but on this particular issue,
I find it deeply frustrating. That our offers are not
being put directly to their.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Members, and you can't do anything about that.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Presumably I can't without breaking the sort of the law,
as I've been told, But I am actively thinking about
how we deal with people who are not in the unions.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Well, what are you going to do about that? What
can you do about that?

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, that's a bit I'm working through. It just seems
unfair that those who are not union members are not
able to access this offer. So over the next week,
I'm working through how I reached the equipment. I think
there's about eight thousand people who are not in the union.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
In your gut, if you went directly to teachers and
said here's what's on the table, did you one realize
that and be what do you reckon about it? What
do you think they would say?

Speaker 2 (02:39):
I think the majority would say, we've given it a
fair shot for just as far as we can go
in this bargaining around. Let's move on.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Don't they see that? With the evidence so far, I
mean pretty much everyone's got two and a bit percent
this year, two percent next year. It's all worked out
roughly the same, hasn't it? Within a margin?

Speaker 2 (02:56):
It has? And you know We have been incredibly consistent
right through this process. We've never misled them. We've remained
very strong on a messaging that other unions have seen
that this union hasn't. I'm at a losses to understand why.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
All right, We'll stay in touch and come back to
you soon. Sir Brian Roach, a Public Service commissioner, were
you aware of that? If you're a teacher listening to that,
were you aware of that? Is that how the unions
play games in this country? For more from The Mic
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