FENZ has sent out “expressions of interest” invitations to workshops for Health Monitoring Risk Workshops.
The NZPFU advises members it is not in your interests to participate in this project or programme work.
There is no guarantee what “health monitoring” will entail or how it will be used against you.
The NZPFU Locals have organised health monitoring for occupational disease, with FENZ reimbursing the costs of the testing up to $250 per year or maximised to $500 every two years.
The NZPFU currently has a claim in bargaining to update that provision to include reimbursement of actual costs.
The NZPFU has ensured that there is no information sharing with FENZ on your testing or test results. In the past, FENZ has misused medical information that they were not supposed to receive. In the past year, we have seen a sudden and significant increase in the number of medical reviews and attempts by FENZ to force medical retirement.
We will not hand over this programme, or accept FENZ running such a programme, as we are concerned it could result in FENZ accessing medical information, and we are concerned FENZ will attempt to drive down the breadth and scope of the health monitoring as a cost-cutting measure.
FENZ was supposed to organise the health monitoring programme for recruits, and nearly 4 years later they have still failed to do so. This is a critical part of the programme so that the health of the firefighter can be benchmarked at the time of the start of their service and then analysed against those levels.
If FENZ was genuinely concerned about the health of firefighters and the success of this programme, they would have implemented it for recruits.
Any issue that may impact on your terms and conditions of employment, including affecting the security of your employment, must be consulted on and in some matters must be agreed. Do not participate in the bypassing of these critical safeguards.
The NZPFU has a national representative addressing these matters with FENZ.
In unity,
Wattie Watson
National Secretary
