Kia ora,
FENZ has made the decision to take money out of our pay before any strike action has even occurred.
That's a deliberate choice, and it is a serious escalation of the bargaining.
We've been through difficult bargaining before with poor decisions, but this is escalation with intent.
This crosses a line.
It isn't just about this deduction.
This is part of an ongoing pattern where Fire and Emergency:
- Reneges on agreements or devises new interpretations of agreements to reduce what you are paid
- Misapplies or invents policy to undercut the CEA
- Pushes decisions that result in you receiving less than you are entitled to
We are now at the point where it needs to be said plainly: This is wage theft.
This is not accidental. These actions are about putting us under pressure, and trying to force our compliance, create uncertainty, and test whether we will hold the line when it starts to hit your pay directly.
The Board and ELT are betting on our hesitation, on us fracturing.
They are betting wrong.
We are taking this on everywhere it needs to be taken, industrial, legal, and public.
We have launched a public campaign and petition for an independent inquiry into Fire and Emergency’s management of its funding, its capacity and capability, and its employment practices. This is about dragging this out of internal processes and putting it where it belongs, under governmental scrutiny.
What happens next depends on us
This only works if every one of us engages.
Push the petition hard -
- Share it widely
- Get it to your friends and family
- Talk to people about what is actually happening
We don't want quiet support, we need to build visible pressure.
Complete the Whanaungatanga Survey -Every member completes it, no exceptions!
If we are going to hold FENZ to account for how this is impacting NZPFU members, we need the evidence. This is how we build it.
Stay disciplined -
I know how everyone is feeling, but don’t lose your edge by losing your discipline. We stay focused on the issue and we make it impossible
for them to shift the narrative.
On my visibility
Up to this point, I’ve made a deliberate decision to let this campaign be led by the membership. It's time for me to be engaging more, you will see and hear more from me as this escalates.
This is a line in the sand. This is how FENZ will want to be operating going forward 'take first, justify later'.
We won't accept that.
Stronger Together!
Kia kaha,
Joe.
