PSA welcomes Rennie’s acknowledgement of mistake over Sutton press conference

The Public Service Association (PSA) welcomes the acknowledgement by State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie that he made a mistake holding a joint press conference with former CERA Chief Executive Roger Sutton.

Mr Rennie acknowledged his mistake for the first time publicly in a speech on integrity in the public service given to PSA members in Wellington today.

Richard Wagstaff, PSA National Secretary, said “The first step to making improvements is to acknowledge when mistakes are made,”

“By holding a joint press conference with Mr Sutton, the State Services Commission (SSC) gave Mr Sutton an opportunity that was denied to the complainant.

“Mr Rennie has acknowledged that his actions could leave public servants with less confidence to come forward in the future.

“The key now is the way forward to restore any trust and confidence in the SSC’s processes that may have been lost.

“The PSA supports the decision to create consistent bullying and harassment policies across the entire public service by April 2015.

“The SSC’s commitment to creating a culture of positive workplace behaviours across the public service is vital for building a more productive public service where everyone is valued in a safe work environment.

“It is now down to state sector chief executives to make sure that this work is made a reality in their agencies, and to work with the PSA as the representative of their staff within their agencies, as well as on a system-wide level through the SSC.

“We are glad that the SSC is involving the PSA in this work, and we will ensure that public servants’ voices are heard loudly as this crucial work progresses,” said Richard Wagstaff.

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