2012 Elections - National President, Vice

President, Secretary/Treasurer

In response to questions from members, the Union provides the following information:

Job Descriptions – These are provided in the Union Rules.

1. President:

• Member of the Council, Committee and Conference.
• To supervise the business and affairs of the Union, to attend and preside over all meetings of the Union Council, the Union Committee and the Union Conference, to keep order, to conduct the business and to decide all points of order;
• To obey all such lawful instructions, and to do and perform all such lawful things and acts as may be given or required to be done by a meeting of the Union Council, the Union Committee, the Union Conference or by the Act and its amendments, or by these Rules;
• To call meetings of the Union Council and the Union Committee where such meetings are required or permitted to be called under these Rules, but where the Union Secretary is unable to, or has failed to call such meetings;
• To do and perform such other lawful duties as may usually appertain to the office of Union President.
• To be a Trustee of the Union funds and assets as provided in these Rules.

2. Vice President:

• Member of the Council, Committee and Conference.
• To assist the Union President in carrying out of the duties appertaining to that office;
• In the absence of the Union President, to exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the Union President.
• To be a Trustee of the Union funds and assets as provided in these Rules.

3. Secretary/Treasurer:

• Member of the Council, Committee and Conference.
• To call and attend all meetings of the Union Council, the Union Committee and the Union Conference and to take accurate minutes of all such meetings;
• To collect and receive all monies due to the Union and to give a receipt in a form approved by the Union Committee, and in no case to hold any such monies without the authority of the Union Committee for any period exceeding seven days, and to deposit all such monies in the name of the Union in Bank accounts approved by the Union Committee;
• To prepare and sign, prior to the November meeting of the Union Committee, a Balance Sheet and a Statement of Income & Expenditure for the preceding 12 months and to present such documents to the November meeting of the Union Committee and the Annual Union Conference, duly audited in accordance with the Act and these Rules. The report shall contain the following:

The Auditor’s Report on the Accounts of the Union for the preceding 12 months;

• To deliver to the Registrar of Unions, within 3 months after the end of the Financial Year of the Union, a copy of the Accounts for that financial year;
• To prepare, prior to the November meeting of the Union Committee and the Union Annual Conference, an annual report on the business and proceedings of the Union during the preceding twelve months, and to present such report to those meetings;
• To be a Trustee of the Union funds and assets as provided in these Rules;
• To conduct the correspondence and affairs of the Union;
• To keep a register of the names, occupations, award, determination or agreement coverage and addresses of members, within the date of their joining the Union and of their withdrawal or death, as the case may be;
• To prepare and forward to the Registrar in April each year, the return required by the Act of Officers and Members, as at 31 March that year;
• To obey all such lawful instructions and to do and perform all such lawful things and acts as may be given or required to be done by a meeting of the Union Council, the Union Committee, a Union Conference, or by the Act and its amendments, or by these Rules.
• To do and perform such other lawful duties as may usually appertain to the office of Secretary.

As well, the Union Committee has determined:

1. The Secretary/Treasurer must be domiciled in Wellington;
2. The Secretary/Treasurer position is full-time – Monday to Friday (core hours).
3. The salary for the position is to be agreed between the Secretary/Treasurer and the Committee, and the Committee will consider such things as experience, expertise, qualifications for the position.

Members are also advised that:

The President – Steve Warner and
The Vice President – Peter Hallett
are not standing for re-election

Noel Leeming Friends & Family Event

NZPFU Members and their friends and family have been invited to the Noel Leeming and Bond+Bond Friends & Family Event.

The flyer entitles all staff and their friends and families to shop at any of the Noel Leeming and Bond+Bond stores Nationwide to receive cost plus 5% on certain product lines and then cost + 7.5% on up to 5 products storewide.

Friends & Family Event
Monday 21st - Sunday 27th May 2012

• Download Flyer

The Firefighters' Scholarship is established for firefighters and comcen staff and provides the opportunity to study overseas, research world's best practice or undertake a project that will benefit the Fire Service.

The Firefighters' Scholarship is open to:

• Career firefighters and officers, up to and including senior station officers, with a minimum of five years total service in the New Zealand Fire Service; and
• Communication centre communicators, including senior communicators and shift managers, with a minimum of five years total service in the New Zealand Fire Service.

The Firefighters' Scholarship is supported by the NZ Professional Firefighters' Union.

• Download Information Pack
• Download 2012/2013 Firefighters Scholarship Application Form

Applications due Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Ratification Ballot - Result

Available for download is the result of the Ratification Ballot.

As the result declares - the proposed Collective Agreement has been ratified and members now again have a Collective Agreement to work under.

The turnout of those attending meetings and consequently voting was very high - certainly the highest for any Ratification Ballot and probably higher than for any ballot the Union has conducted.

We all however have to note the 600 members who voted to allow/facilitate Fire Service management's desire to introduce fully Flexible Rostering into the Fire Service - make no mistake, a vote to reject ratification of the proposed Collective Agreement was a vote to see fully Flexible Rostering - although probably many people voting to reject, did not intend this outcome - may be many were simply misled or misinformed.

The Union is advised the Lump Sum will be paid on 30 May 2012 and the new rates (from 5 January) and Back-pay will be paid on 13 June 2012.

Collective Agreement

Further to Newsletter No. 15 – 4 April 2012.
Attached are the various new wordings in the Proposed Collective Agreement:

• 2.7% increase in Wages and Allowances from 5 January 2012.
• A further 1.5% increase in Wages and Allowances from 1 July 2012.

Click to view Pay Rates - Quick View

• Introduction of a new Clause providing conditions for Relieving Workers, with greater flexibility of working patterns, to be introduced on 1 July 2012.
• Provides that worker must be a Qualified Firefighter at least, to be a
  Reliever.
• A worker must apply to become a Reliever – i.e. no directed transfers.
• All new recruits will be offered employment on the basis of being able to be appointed to Relieving once they attain the rank of Q.F.F.
• A $60 a week payment for Relieving.
• Existing Relievers stay on existing conditions.
• Usual Station defined as closest Station to the worker’s home in the Fire District employed.
• No relieving outside of the Fire Service District that you are employed in.

Click to view Relieving Clause - Quick View

• A Lump sum of $1200 for each worker who is a member of the Union and whose position is covered by the proposed Collective Agreement (the coverage Clause is unchanged).
• A new Clause preventing the employer contributing to more than one Superannuation Scheme.
   
• New Part 3 – Communication Centre Workers

Click to view Part 3 - Quick View

• New Part 4 – Black Watch Workers
• V.S.O. Wage Rates to be increased to that paid to Training and F.S.Os on the introduction of Region Restructure.

Click to view Part 4 - Quick View

• An agreement to work jointly on analysis of the value of the work of Firefighters looking at matters including:
  • Changes to the Role, Responsibilities and Training of Firefighters over the last 10 years and expected changes in the role over the total period of the next Collective Agreement.
  • The purpose of this work is to provide advice on a Joint basis for future C.A. negotiations in reviewing remuneration rates for Firefighters.

Click to view “Work Value” - Quick View

Ratification meetings are presently being organized in Locals and members will be advised of details as soon as possible.

Obviously, with any Ratification Ballot, it is extremely important that members make all efforts to attend those meetings to have your say in the Ballot.

Additional Downloads

• Full Collective Agreement - 5 January 2012 to 31 December 2012

• Full Collective Agreement - 5 January 2012 to 31 December 2012
  (Word Version with Tracked Changes - this is an Office 2010 File)

Catch-up Work

As has been clearly outlined in regard to previous situations where strike action is removed, none of the work not done during the strike action is to be caught up when normal work resumed.

For example – Annual Business Plans (the strike lasted around 7.5 months) will have around 62.5% remaining uncompleted.

As far as O.S.M. is concerned, eventually everyone will become green-lighted. However, instructions put out in Auckland for example have been withdrawn (along with a verbal apology from Brian Butt) as the timeframes provided were ridiculous. The critical (approx 6) items will be green-lighted with the target transfer of 1 month.

Firefighters join mass protest

• Firefighters from Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch Locals turn out to show their support and solidarity for port workers. Click here to view the NZPFU photos.