Regional Manager McGill and his fellow Chief Fire Officers Edwards, Wood and Ellis are now consistently placing your safety and the public’s safety at risk.

They have, on numerous occasions, allowed trucks to ride short crewed because they will not enact their own Hours ofWork Policy and allow M.S.M. to be maintained.

Management plucked a number from the Driving Regulations (72 hours) and when it was found to be incompatible with the firefighter call back system, it was increased to 76 hours. Has the new number 76 had any ill effect on members? The answer is clearly ‘No’. Is riding on an appliance with a short crew having an effect on personnel, and operationally, the answer is ‘Yes’.  Health, safety and efficiency are suffering.

Members, through their Union, are now showing distrust in Regional Manager McGill and his fellow Chief Fire Officers because of their willingness to run down M.S.M. and place members and the public in jeopardy. This attack on M.S.M. would never have happened in the past with Chief Fire Officers in Auckland who were respected and who took pride in the Auckland Fire Brigade. Current Management seems to care little for the values of their predecessors and the respect they had for their staff.

Currently the Union is trying to negotiate with Auckland Management to resolve this unsatisfactory situation. The Union encourages all its members to help maintain M.S.M. by making themselves available for overtime shifts when required.