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NZ Media Reaction on Firefighters Win |
Firefighters win
holiday battle
Employment Court says firefighters have been
treated unfairly because they get no day off for working on public
holidays
24 August 2005
The Employment Court has found in favour of the firefighters
union.
The Professional Firefighters Union has maintained since the new
holidays legislation came into effect last year that firefighters
were not being treated fairly.
NZPFU secretary Derek Best says firefighters have been working
public holidays without getting a day off in lieu.
Mr Best says firefighters work anywhere between seven and 10 public
holidays a year so it was a significant shortfall.
He says the court also rejected a claim from the Fire Service that
public holidays do not begin until eight o'clock in the morning.
Mr Best says the Fire Service has to backdate accumulated holidays
to when the legislation came into effect.
As the new act commenced from April 2004, he says many firefighters
have eight to ten days off to take.
He says firefighters are extremely pleased with the decision despite
it taking a lot of time and money.
© 2005 NZCity, NewsTalkZB
25 August 2005
By
CHALPAT SONTI
The Fire Service faces a
multimillion-dollar bill and might have to employ more firefighters
after losing a long-running employment dispute.
The Employment Court has backed a claim by the Professional
Firefighters Union that its members are entitled to a day in lieu if
they work on public holidays.
Fire Service national commander Mike Hall said more firefighters
might need to be hired in the long-term wake of the decision for the
service to be able to meet its commitments under the Holidays Act.
In giving his decision, Judge Barrie Travis said the firefighters
claim was a test case. Both sides will have to foot their own legal
bills.
The decision means firefighters can claim back owed days off if they
worked on public holidays since April 1 last year, when the Holidays
Act became law. About 1680 firefighters are affected by the
decision.
The act allows for the days owed to be sold for a cash payment.
Fire Service national commander Mike Hall said the decision could
cost the service between $3.5 million and $5.5 million a year.
Union secretary Derek Best
said he was "absolutely delighted" with the ruling which had not yet
been discussed with the Fire Service. It has 28 days to appeal.
The union was faced with "substantial" legal costs but the claim
showed how difficult it was for workers to stand up for their
rights. "Certainly no individual worker could ever afford to enforce
their rights if their employer took the same stand (as the Fire
Service)," Mr Best said.
Mr Hall said the Fire Service had taken legal advice and would
probably decide within three weeks if it would appeal against the
ruling.
The service – which is funded by a levy charged on insurance
premiums – had built the costs of the ruling going against it into
its accounts. There would be no difference in service to the public,
he said.
The Fire Service differed from other "24/7" workplaces in that it
had to be manned at the same strength all the time.
The dispute – which has lasted more than a year – was drawn out
because the Fire Service took the dispute to the Court of Appeal
seeking to strike out the claim. That court decided in March that
the Employment Court should hear the matter.
Firefighters win holidays
claim
25.08.05
Firefighters have won a battle in the Employment Court to be granted
a day off for each public holiday they work.
The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union said the decision
meant all members were now owed significant numbers of days off
which have been denied to them since April 1 last year, when the new
Holidays Act came into force.
Judges Barrie Travis and Coral Shaw and Chief Judge Graeme Colgan
rejected arguments by Fire Service lawyers.
They said the 14 days' leave in 160 currently received were all
working days, and that all 14 were being used by the employer to
satisfy its obligation to give alternative days off to union members
who work on public holidays.
The union's lawyers argued the 14 days in 160 were not working days,
and that the employer must grant additional days.
The union said the court also rejected the employer's argument that
public holidays begin at 8am in the Fire Service.
The decision means any member who has worked at any time on any
public holiday since April 1 last year is entitled to a full day off
in recompense, the union said.
There are provisions in the new Holidays Act which may allow some of
those to be sold to the employer for a cash payment, although the
details of this will need negotiation with the Fire Service.
Fire Service chief Mike Hall said the decision, which the service
has 28 days to appeal against, would cost the organisation between
$3.5 million and $5.5 million a year, although provision had been
made for it. The final figure would not be known until management
sat down with the union to discuss how to implement the changes.
"But we've been aware for quite a long time of the potential impact
of this legislation and, quite prudently, we've built in that
potential impact in our business model.
"So yes, we can afford it and there will be no impact on services to
the public," he told National Radio.
Mr Hall said if the service did not appeal against the decision, it
would also owe backpay, from April 1 last year, to the workers.
He said that was also between $3.5 million and $5.5 million a year.
Fire Service human resources director Vince Arbuckle told NZPA that
no decision had been made yet on whether to appeal against the
court's ruling.
He said that the service had already had preliminary meetings with
the union, and they went well.
"The whole thing is being handled in a very constructive manner.
It's a new piece of legislation and both parties are still grappling
with what it means."
Mr Arbuckle said the service had provided the days off, but they
were tied up with other leave arrangements.
- NZPA
25/08/2005 7:28:01
The Fire Service is analysing an Employment Court
decision, which may have an impact on other emergency service
workers.
The court has found firefighters are entitled to a day off for each
public holiday they work.
Fire Service Director of Human Resources Vincent Arbuckle says it
will be a few weeks before the decision can be put into practice. He
says the 21 page ruling needs to be reviewed and digested.
Mr Arbuckle says the decision will cost up to $5 million a year
which has been factored into the budget.
on for other workers
25 August 2005
An Employment Court ruling that firefighters should be granted a day
off for each public holiday they work could have implications for
other emergency services and shift workers.
The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union said the decision,
issued on Tuesday, means all members are now owed significant
numbers of days off which have been denied to them since April 1,
2004, when the new holidays legislation came into force.
In giving the decision, a year in the making, Judge Barrie Travis
said it was "a test case".
Each side has to pay its own legal bills.
Fire Service chief Mike Hall said yesterday the decision could cost
the organisation between $3.5 and $5.5 million per year plus backpay.
The service may need to hire more firefighters in order to meet its
commitments.
Mr Hall said the Fire Service had taken legal advice and would
probably decide within three weeks whether to appeal the ruling.
Meanwhile, other unions representing emergency workers were seeking
legal advice today on the decision and potential implications for
their members.
Karl Andersen advocate for the National Distribution Union, one of
three representing ambulance officers, said he had not had time to
examine the decision in detail but planned to confer with lawyers
today.
"There are going to be a lot of other people affected by it,
particularly those working continuous shifts," he said.
"Many contracts have days in lieu built into ordinary leave but this
decision could turn that around."
The union said significantly, the court also rejected the employer's
argument that public holidays begin at 8am in the Fire Service.
However, Police Association president Greg O'Connor said he had been
advised the ruling was "not relevant" to his members.
"We operate in a different sort of environment."
The police union does have its own Employment Court case coming up
shortly with regard to the Holidays Act.
Police officers are arguing they should be paid time-and-a-half for
working public holidays.
At present they do not receive penal rates.
Union secretary for the Professional Firefighters Union, Derek Best,
said the decision had been on the side of natural justice.
Firefighters are rostered to take 14 days holiday every 160 days -
but they have no choice about when they take this leave.
The Fire Service had argued that this provision covered any public
holidays worked.
However, the court supported the union's position that firefighters
working any part of a public holiday should be entitled to a full
day off in lieu.
Mr Best said it was unfair that a firefighter who happened to be on
leave on a public holiday did not get another day off.
"It would be as if someone working Monday to Friday who worked
through a public holiday was told they could have their day off in
the weekend."
The decision means that any member who has worked on any public
holiday since April 1, 2004, is entitled to a full day off in
recompense.
There are provisions in the new Holidays Act which may allow some of
those to be sold to the employer for a cash payment, although the
details of this will need negotiation with the Fire Service.
Mr Best said the final legal costs for the union had yet to be
determined but were likely to be "close to six figures".
"This certainly represents value for money for our members - they
will each be getting back pay equating to about five times their
annual union membership fee....
"It goes to show that we may have these statutory requirements, but
you can't just assume they will be implemented. We have to stand up
for our rights."
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