Sir Brian Roche: Public Services Commissioner says it's time to get back to negotiations with strikers

The Public Services Commissioner Sir Brian Roche is keeping focused on the push for a deal with the thousands of health, education, and public sector strikers. 

Thousands downed tools across the country yesterday, taking to the streets demanding better pay and working conditions. 

Roche told Mike Hosking he wasn't moved by yesterday's scenes, adding they saw what was expected and people got it our of their systems.

He says it's now time to get back to the negotiating table, and find a solution as New Zealanders deserve better. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So the big question out of yesterday's in dust real
action is where to now. The strike, like all strikes,
doesn't actually change anything. Material frustration was aired. I guess
hyperbole like the Herald's headline this morning, if you've seen it,
defining moment in our history gets printed, But we still
don't have a deal. Public Service Commissioner s so Brian
Roach's back with us, Brian morning.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Did the pictures that I'm sure you saw yesterday, or
the feed you got back or whatever, did they move
you in any way, shape or form.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
No, not at all. We got what we expected. People
have gotten out of a system. We now need to
get back to the table and find a solution that
avoids these disruptions. New Zealanders deserve better.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
When I read the headline this morning, a defining moment
in our history?

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Is it? I don't see it that way at all.
I said, as a moment where accumulated frustration was expressed.
Those messages have been sent many times, We've heard them.
It doesn't solve anything. Getting back and finding our way
forward is the only way to get through this where
both parties have to be able to do it. I'm

(01:03):
committed to doing that.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
Is there any sense from the government moves I mean
traditionally what you see as a protest so large that
the government, the politics of the day, the government goes, geez,
we're on the losing side of this, we need to
do something. Is there any sense that that's where they're at.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
I've had no cause of that nature. What I have
been told is to operate within the budget. I've done that.
We've actually achieved settlements, so we know that we can
do it. We just need the unions to see it
the same way. We need to make trade offs. I've
made significant trade offfs to get to the settlement that
we made a few weeks ago. They need to come

(01:39):
to the party and be prepared to make trade offfs.
I have not seen that yet.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Explain the difference the principles that did the deal. What's
different about that than the people who haven't done the deal?
Why did that work in the rest hasn't?

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Well, there was a smaller group of people involved. They
were very committed to finding solution. They focused very clearly
on what were the critical issues. I spent the day
with them were backwards and forwards. We both had to
trade off. We got a deal. They were happy. I
would like to see that replicated across the PPTA, the NZDI.

(02:16):
It's possible, but when there's extraneous other information coming to
the party, such as our approach to the treaty or
white hanging, that is not critical to terms and conditions.
They are important issues, but they aren't relevant to terms
and conditions.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah, how much peripheral stuff is going on there as
opposed to just hard numbers and how many people you
employ or don't employ.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
I think there's way too much peripheral. I think there's
too much theater around the bargaining. We're all captured in
a historical model where there's very low levels of trust.
It's very complicated. It's overly complicated. I'd like to think
we should streamline it. We could do a lot more.
There's no question that we need to reward good teachers,

(02:59):
there's no question, and we need to support public education.
But we don't need to be told that at the
bargaining table. We just need to find solutions.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Would you favor arbitration.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
I favor anything that gets to a solution that avoids
disruption to the households and patients that we have seen,
and that's why yesterday. I've approached the Employment Relations Authority
you see whether they could help us with the PPTA.
PPTA at this point are reluctant to do that. It's
a mystery as they why they would be. We both
should be committed to getting money in the pockets of teachers.

(03:34):
I could make that happen very quickly.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
Appreciate time. I have a good weekend, s Brian Roch
who's up early for us in Queensland, and don't text
me going well Eaha's to be on holiday. For more
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