Barry Soper: ZB senior political correspondent on Prime Minister Chris Luxon telling public servants to stop working from home

Working from home is not an entitlement, it's an agreement.

That's the Prime Minister's message to public servants today, claiming routines begun during Covid - now risk undermining performance.

From now on, it'll only be agreed when Working from Home doesn't compromise agency objectives.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says more data is needed regarding the benefits and drawbacks of flexible working arrangements.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Senior political correspondence with US Now Barry, Hello, good afternoon.
Hither So the government's ordered them back into the office
the public servants.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Well, it's taken some time, hasn't it really when you
consider that. I guess I've always been staying away from
the office though, but it became it was much much
worse during COVID. Yeah, and they sort of had the permission.
And it was interesting because they've never kept any records
in the Public Service of how many actually turn up
to work. That's not and how many work from home.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Well, that's true because you can go on to you
can go onto the Public Service Commission website and you
can actually look at the agencies. Not all of the
agencies do it, but you can look at the agencies
to see how many of them are turning up to work,
for example, ninety four percent at.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
The well where you were working. But I tried to.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Show you later.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
That's very good. Well, it seems that Nichola Willis doesn't
know that site either, because she said that the last
time a survey was done was in twenty twenty one.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Regular Public Service Commissioner survey that they do right.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, anyway, she well, I just thought i'd allow her
to have her say on it, because she said it
hard and fast. Records of those working from home aren't kept.
But she says she's sent a survey, like I said,
out in twenty twenty one, and these are the figures
she read.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
Around fifty eight percent of participants made use of working
from home arrangements, of not only sixty five percent of
public servants actually took place took part in that survey.
I've also surveyed the agencies that I work directly with.
The Public Service Commission, for example, advises that sixty six
percent of their employees have working from home arrangements, with

(01:41):
about a third working from home one day a week
and another third working from home two days a week,
so only a third of their employees are in the
office five days a week. The Social Investment Agency sees
that on average, across a week, more than four out
of five are working in the office, and Treasury says
it does not centrally keep information that allows it to
confirm any overall trends and working from home.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
See, it was very very very really yeah, very wooly. Yes,
it is. But the point that she makes is and
the point that Christopher Luxon standing alongside have made was
that working from home isn't an entitlement. It should be
an agreement between the employer and the employee. And I
don't know about you, Heather, but when I walk down

(02:23):
Lampton Key and talk to businesses down there post COVID,
they really are suffering. And it's because these public servants
are spending far too much time at home. They can
see themselves doing their job from there. They are very
highly paid as a rule public servant, and I think
they should go where the job is, sitting at a

(02:43):
desk where everyone else normally has to go when.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
They get too right. Look, please, I'm pleased with the
kind of vibe from it, but that's all it is.
And I want to see something a little bit harder
on that. We'll talk to the Clorise.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
She's going to publish results.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
Appearently, Yeah, when she's with us. After six o'clock, just quickly,
Sri Lanka has won the cricket by six three runs.
Will ow' rock is not quite as good with the
bat as he is with the ball and he's out.
Now what's happened with the Greens? Now that the court
has ruled against Darling Tana.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
I know a number of questions have been asked about
that because you know, the Greens have got what they
want now and they should, one would think, invoke the
waker jumping legislation. But as I understand, what they're doing
now is they're waiting in case Darlingana launches an appeal
against the court's finding, and that's a possibility, so that

(03:30):
I want to jump the gun. I don't know how
the how long they're prepared to wait, but they are waiting.
The Greens. They were awarded costs. You probably know from
the court case last week. Who's paying Darling Tana's bills. Well,
apparently wealthy green unnamed Green Green Door.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah sorry, a Green donor.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
A Green donor is paying her bills. But the interesting
thing is the walker jumping legislation has never really been tested.
And the argument is from some that MP's actually sworn
into Parliament by name, they're not sworn by a party,
and you'll be aware of how they always go to
the front of Parliament and sworn in. So that's never

(04:09):
really been put to the test. So if they do
invoke the walker jumping legislation, I'm sure there will be
some legal argument about that. As well, So this could
extend well out of the future for Darlian Tana not
working at Parliament but fighting for their existence to be there.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
So this standoff where they're waiting the Greens, they're not
calling a meeting until they're sure she's not going to
appeal to one for ages, because she might only appeal
once they call the meeting.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
Well true that, do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (04:36):
Her whole thing has been to frustrate the efforts to
get rid of it, so she may wait. So this
could go on for ages and also barry the fact
that a wealthy Green Party donor is backing her against
their own party. Does that not tell you that the
party is divided on this?

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Oh, I think the party is divided. But from whom
I've talked to in the party, they say that they
are one hundred percent sure that if it's put to
the party membership now they have the numbers to invoke
the Walker.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
Jumping on very quickly, very very quickly. Winston Peter is
off to New York.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
He's on the same page as Helen Clark, although he
said I heard him say this morning and to you,
I really don't know where Helen Clark is on it.
It's basically her big argument is the UN Security Council
can never pass a resolution because you've got China and
Russia and the United States as permanent members on it, vetoing,
vetoing everything that goes out there, and it is a disgrace.

(05:30):
I mean, the UN is a greater MorphOS body, does
some good work obviously around the world, but when it
comes to the big international issues like wars, they can't
make any decisions.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
Very thanks, very much, very so, Senior political correspondent. For
more from Hither Duplessy Alan Drive, listen live to news
talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.