NZPFU membership meetings have been organised across the country for members to vote on the FENZ Collective Agreement offer and industrial action.
Last Thursday the NZPFU emailed members with a copy of the FENZ offer, a spreadsheet of the wage offer for all classifications, and a brief NZPFU analysis of the offer. FENZ’s offer is essentially the same as FENZ’s earlier response to NZPFU claims which were detailed in the NZPFU information meetings held by zoom in March.
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It is important that all off-duty and on-duty NZPFU members covered by the NZPFU bargaining claims make every effort to attend a
meeting. This is your opportunity to have your say on the FENZ offer and ballots for industrial action.
Positions covered by the NZPFU claims are Recruits/Firefighters/Officers, Comms Centre call takers and Dispatchers, RR and CRR Advisor/Senior Advisor and CRM roles, Senior Specialist Fire Investigators, Trainers, VSOs, Welfare Liaison Officers, Team Leader Safety, Health and Wellbeing and Safety, Health and Wellbeing Advisors. Members currently on secondment where their substantive role is covered by the NZPFU bargaining claim should also make every effort to attend.
- Locals will be working with management to make arrangements to ensure as many on-duty members can attend as possible. FENZ has been given notice in accordance with the Employment Relations Act to ensure all on-duty members are continued to be paid while attending a union meeting (up to two-hours).
- Off-duty members are also urged to attend. Please let the Local know if you will need to bring children along.
We acknowledge the pressure on members’ due to inadequate staffing and for some attending meetings in the Covid19 brings particular challenges. Those staffing pressures exist regardless of Covid19 and will not improve under FENZ’s offer.
If there is one meeting you need to go to it is this one!
- FENZ’s has refused to include staffing ratios, safe systems of work and most of NZPFU’s safety, health and wellbeing claims including recognising occupational cancer being included in the agreement.
- FENZ has refused the NZPFU claims for recognition of medical response and the impact on mental health.
- On day 1 of the bargaining FENZ confirmed they would not be seeking to clawback any terms or conditions yet FENZ’s offer includes a serious attack on our union consultation and dispute rights.
- Over 65% of NZPFU members would get 1.5 - 2.0% wage increases under FENZ’s offer.
- NZPFU members have not had a pay increase since 1 July 2020 yet FENZ’s wage offer is only the guaranteed wage increase over a two-year deal.
- Under the current collective agreement FENZ’s market wage offer should have been offered back in May 2021 to apply from 1 July 2021. FENZ waited until 8 April 2022 to make the formal offer and are trying to push through the bad deal by refusing to backdate unless NZPFU members ratify the agreement by 31 May 2022.
- Recruit firefighters are currently paid less than the NZ Living Wage so FENZ has offered them the highest increase for the 12 weeks they are on the course. That would usually apply to about 100 recruits a year (for 12 weeks) but FENZ has cancelled the April 2022 recruit course.
Click here for updated Membership Meeting Schedule
In unity,
Wattie Watson
National Secretary
