The Fire Service has made a new offer to USAR members. This should have been received by USAR members on or about 23 July from Mr Paul McGill in the form of an email.

The NZPFU position is, and has always been, one day’s leave for each day of deployment.

When reading Mr Paul McGill’s offer, it reads that this is their final offer. I would state at this time, that the NZPFU has not accepted any offer from the New Zealand Fire Service and our position has not changed from that stated above.

The Northern Branch of the NZPFU is surprised by the actions of Mr Paul McGill considering that he has asked the NZPFU to take its offer to USAR members, but the detail contained in this email differs from the detail originally provided to the NZPFU.

This further demonstrates to the NZPFU the contempt that the Fire Service has for members and the games the Fire Service continues to put members through, given the commitment they have demonstrated during their deployment in Christchurch and further commitment when asked to deploy to Japan.

I ask that USAR members read carefully the offer from the New Zealand Fire Service and provide feedback to the Northern Branch as to how they wish to proceed with the Fire Service’s offer.