Fenz can't rely on goodwill of poorly paid firefighters - mediation report

Friday, 21 October 2022

Auckland central's fire station is one of the busiest in the country, and firefighters there say the challenges they face could soon have an impact on the public.

The continued good will and commitment to service of inadequately paid firefighters should not be taken advantage of by Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz), an independent report says.

After communication break-downs, failed bargaining and industrial action, Fenz and the NZ Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) entered into mediation with a third party to provide recommendations on how to come to a collective agreement.

The findings of the mediation, conducted and written by barrister and employment law specialist Graeme Colgan, include ways the two groups might come to that agreement.

Collective bargaining had been made more difficult by a mutual lack of trust and confidence, the report states at the beginning.

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The disputes between Fenz and the NZPFU are many – but a lot of them centre on health/safety and pay.

Among the recommendations, remuneration and health and safety concerns were the top points of contention.

When looked at next to the nearest comparisons in New Zealand – such as Department of Conservation staff who fight fires on DOC lands or airport firefighters – Fenz firefighters are underpaid, Colgan said.

It also seemed that “many Fenz administrative and head office staff are well remunerated both for the hours worked and the skills and experience they bring to their jobs, when compared to firefighters”, he said.

The report recommended three increases for the budget, or “envelopes”, be put aside for union members’ salaries. These increases would be 3.5% (2021-2022), 7.5% (2022-2023) and 6.5% (2023-2024).

The health and wellness of firefighters needs to be addressed promptly, the report said.

There would also be a sign-on bonus of $1500, the report recommended.

In its submissions on the draft report, Fenz said that if it accepted all the recommendations on spending beyond what it had previously offered to the union, it would first have to secure additional funding.

The health, safety and wellness of firefighters and control room communicators needs to be promptly and seriously addressed, Colgan said, by providing psychological surveillance and treatment.

Firefighters have already performed industrial action this year, walking off the job over disputes with Fenz.

Fenz and the union should negotiate for the provision of life and medical insurance coverage for all union members, paid for by Fenz, he said.

Not all health matters could be covered by the collective agreement, such as cancers that may be caused through the working environment, as it would require work at a legislative level, the report stated.

Colgan said that there had been inadequate recruitment of firefighters for some years – which has had a knock on effect of work load for current staff.

Salaries for trainees and graduates are low, unattractive and – unless changed – counterproductive to recruitment, he said.

It was good though, to hear of Fenz’s commitment to recruit more firefighters, Colgan said, and union members were urged to take them at their word.

“Such has been the loss of trust between the parties, and between individual firefighters and individual managers, that this needs to be rebuilt and re-established as an essential element of any settlement and, once done, needs to be durable and not fragile.”

Strike action has played some part in these disputes, the report acknowledged.

In their analysis of the report, the NZPFU welcomed the findings and the principals within it.

They will be seeking that Fenz embrace the principals and also address claims not canvassed in the report, they said.

“There are recommendations that do not go far enough, or the NZPFU does not agree with”.

In a statement, Fenz chief executive Kerry Gregory said Fenz recognised the mediator’s final recommendations, and was still aiming for a collective agreement that was fair for firefighters and affordable for Fire and Emergency.

Gregory said he had hoped the union would have “held off” strike action while the two parties worked through those recommendations, which was also suggested by the mediator.

Meanwhile Fenz was examining the set of recommendations before the next meeting with the union on October 27.

The union announced on Thursday that industrial action would resume, having been paused at the end of August to allow for facilitated bargaining.

Meanwhile the union representing both volunteer and professional firefighters, the United Fire Brigades’ Association (UFBA), has said volunteers will work throughout the November strike action.

UFBA Chair and former Minister Peter Dunne said the 12,000 volunteers in the union would be working when NZPFU members strike during four one-hour work stoppages from November 4.

“Volunteer firefighters are not part of this industrial dispute between the union and Fire and Emergency New Zealand – they have not and do not go on strike,” he said.

“That means the majority of New Zealand will continue to be in safe hands during the planned industrial action.”

He said the UFBA hopes the ongoing dispute between the NFPFU and Fenz will not affect funding for volunteers.

“While we respect the union’s role is to advocate for the terms and conditions of employment for employed firefighters as it sees fit, the costs to settle their industrial claim must not come from funding to support volunteers, either directly or indirectly.

“New Zealand’s fire services are largely reliant on the goodwill of volunteer firefighters, their employers and their own businesses if they are self-employed. They risk their health and wellbeing for us all, and they deserve more support, not less.”