WISHING EVERYONE A SAFE, HAPPY AND STRESS-FREE FESTIVE SEASON

As 2024 draws to a close and the festive season ramps up, we wish you all a safe and happy festive season.

This is a great time to thank all those that work hard for the interests of our members.  

I cannot exaggerate the time and effort the Local committees and representatives and the National Committee put into protecting the rights of our membership and supporting members through work, family and personal challenges.  Their commitment is the backbone of the union but that dedication often comes at the price with calls, video calls and meetings often intruding on precious time off.   On behalf of the membership we thank you for your selfless efforts.  We hope there is some respite from union work over the next few weeks.

Special thanks to the National President Joseph Stanley and Vice President Martin Campbell (who took on the positions on 1 August uncontested), and immediate Past President Ian Wright,  for their unwavering support over the past year.  Their union work is like a second full time job at times and yet they find the time to respond and meet at little to no notice as required.  I also thank them for reminding me that my very-early morning messages are not necessarily the best form or time for communication.   But seriously, their leadership combined with the dedication of the National Committee has created a strategic cohesive force focused on protecting, preserving and promoting the interests of our membership.

Also a big thank you to the NZPFU staff and the webmaster for your work over the past year. 

In order for staff to be able to take a break to come back fighting fit to meet the challenges of 2025,  the NZPFU Office will be closed from Friday 20 December until 13 January 2025 inclusive.  As National Secretary I will be on call throughout that period - request anyone needing my assistance or support please first text me on 021 928 819.

Reflecting on 2024 the highlight would be the recent announcement of Gisborne increasing its staffing for two full time crews of professional career firefighters.  This battle has been fought for many years and is only now poised to come to fruition despite correspondence in 2013 committing to staffing the two appliances.  The Gisborne crews and their support have suffered through the endless call backs, and the toll on mental health was aptly exposed in their 2022 case for the promised staff to be implemented.  We commend the Gisborne Local and members for their tenacity.  Their claims were backed up with evidence and always presented with professionalism.  We hope the additional staff will be at station as soon as practicable.  Congratulations.

The low-light would be the continued disrespect often shown by FENZ management towards the NZPFU membership.  While the Working Parties established as a result of the last collective employment agreement negotiations have proven to be a robust model, FENZ has repeatedly refused to properly consult and engage with the NZPFU on many other matters.  As a result we have a series of legal cases on foot, including the challenging of the new Code of Conduct and how it is was implemented.   Given the NZPFU represents more than 75% of everyone who is employed by FENZ it is time management recognised and valued the relationship so that we can effect positive and necessary change rather than spout slogans that are not applied equally across all roles and ranks.  

Bargaining is underway and many are likely wanting an update.  We are planning a round of membership meetings in early 2025 to update members on the bargaining and industrial action options.  

We have been surprised as the lack of knowledge or understanding of the current collective agreement and FENZ’s own applicable policies by some of the FENZ team highlighted when they presented claims they could not speak to, could not provide any evidence or examples in support of the claim, or demonstrated little to no understanding of the implications.  The worse examples resulted in FENZ withdrawing those claims.  Frustrating.   More dates have been set down for next year so it could be some time before members see any progress.  Interestingly FENZ is now refusing to pay for flights and accommodation of the NZPFU representatives to attend bargaining and have offered no explanation for the decision.  The Union will fund the costs and we have put FENZ on notice that we intend to recover those costs in any settlement. 

To each and every member we hope you get to spend some time with family and friends over the next few weeks while acknowledging that the vast majority of our membership will be working on public holidays and in between.   We also wish a safe festive time for your families including those who miss out on having their loved ones join in the celebrations because of work commitments.  While working regardless of day or hour can be part of your job, it is a massive sacrifice to miss out on some of the memories being made.  We hope that the period is relatively emergency-free and low-key.

It is a pleasure and an honour to work with the Local and National representatives to represent our hardworking, dedicated and professional membership.  You all make the world a better place.

STRONGER TOGETHER – TOGETHER STRONG

In unity,
Wattie Watson
National Secretary