From:
Jones, Rhys
Sent:
Monday, 26 August 2019 8:58 AM
To:
Secretary
Cc:
Ian Wright; Gregory, Kerry; Nally, Brendan; Morgan, Tracey
Subject:
RE: NOTIFICATION OF DISPUTE
Hi Wattie,
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I have signed the letter responding to your dispute notification. You and Ian should receive an electronic version today.
In response to your middle paragraph below, we do respect the skills that career firefighters have, however, career staff
are not generally as experienced in large scale vegetation fire response as their rural counterparts. As my reply letter
states, there are some executive level career officers who have been suitably trained and have experience in large scale
vegetation fire response, but FENZ needs to ensure that there are competent and experienced commanders available
throughout the country, which means that ex‐Rural firefighters need to be included in the command structure as
well. To do otherwise would be putting the public at risk, particularly as climate change is increasing the risk of large
scale wildfires.
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From the very outset of the operating model workshops, the direction has been that only those qualified and
experienced in the appropriate vegetation or structure skills will command that respective incident. As time progresses
there will be people who have both skills, as we see by the small number of career staff who are working on gaining
large‐scale vegetation qualifications and experience. Similarly there are also a small number of Rural leaders who are
also structure qualified, so there is progress on both sides. Official
In the mean‐time, we are confident that your concerns of having inappropriate people in the incident response
command chain is unfounded. The consultation proposal reinforces the need for maintaining enough skilled people in
all incident types to maintain the on‐call rosters for both structure and vegetation fires, as well as any other incident.
the
Rhys Jones
Chief Executive
Executive Assistant – Tracey Morgan
P 04 496 3641 – [email address]
under
National Headquarters, 80 The Terrace, Level 12
PO Box 2133, Wellington 6140
[email address]
www.fireandemergency.nz
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From: Secretary [mailto:[email address]]
Sent: Friday, 23 August 2019 11:51 PM
To: Jones, Rhys <[email address]>
Cc: Ian Wright <[email address]>; Joseph Stanley <[email address]>; Gregory, Kerry
<[email address]>; Morgan, Tracey <[email address]>
Subject: RE: NOTIFICATION OF DISPUTE
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Dear Rhys
I note your email is acknowledgement of the receipt of the dispute notification and you intend to fully
respond.
In response to the brief points you make we again remind you that professional career firefighters are
qualified, skilled and experienced in all response and undertake more than 80 percent of all response,
including vegetation. The draft consultation document did not reflect the design parameter that only
appropriately qualified people are in charge of operations. Can you please confirm when the NZPFU will
receive the changed proposal, and the current timelines for this process?
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I also note your reference to our non-attendance at a meeting. That meeting had been rescheduled and this
was a calendar mix up which we clarified with Brendan he rang to ask us at the time. Our non-attendance
was not deliberate. Further, we were not aware that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss these
matters but was a regular meeting.
Yours sincerely,
_______________________________
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Official
the
Ms Wattie Watson
National Secretary
New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union
under
Email: [email address]
Mobile: +64 21 928 819
Office: [email address]
Web: http://www.nzpfu.org.nz/
This email and any attachments may contain information that is confidential or the subject of legal privilege. If you
received it in error:
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2. You must not use, copy or disclose any of the information contained in this email.
There is no warranty that this email is error or virus free.
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From: Jones, Rhys <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, 22 August 2019 5:14 PM
To: Secretary <[email address]>
Cc: Ian Wright <[email address]>; Joseph Stanley <[email address]>; Gregory, Kerry
<[email address]>; Morgan, Tracey <[email address]>
Subject: RE: NOTIFICATION OF DISPUTE
Dear Wattie,
Thank you for your email of 19 August regarding your notification of a dispute. I will provide a full reply as soon as I am
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able to – in the meantime please take this reply as a formal acknowledgement that I received your email.
I am disappointed that neither you nor Ian Wright attended the meeting that we had scheduled on the day that you
sent the letter, to discuss these very issues that you had previously raised with FENZ. Ian had acknowledged that
meeting request.
I remain confident that the issues that you raise are have been addressed appropriately in the structure that we are
proposing. It has always been part of the design parameters for FENZ that only appropriately qualified people are in
charge of operations, but that means that we need to have a range of qualified people to meet the range of incidents
that we face. That, in turn, means that we need both structure and vegetation skills in our command system, but they
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will only be authorised to lead the operations in which they are competent.
Kind regards
Rhys Jones
Official
Rhys Jones
Chief Executive
the
Executive Assistant – Tracey Morgan
P 04 496 3641 – [email address]
National Headquarters, 80 The Terrace, Level 12
PO Box 2133, Wellington 6140
under
[email address]
www.fireandemergency.nz
From: Secretary [mailto:[email address]]
Sent: Monday, 19 August 2019 8:36 AM
To: Jones, Rhys <[email address]>; Gregory, Kerry <[email address]>
Released
Cc: Ian Wright <[email address]>; Joseph Stanley <[email address]>
Subject: NOTIFICATION OF DISPUTE
Importance: High
Dear Rhys,
NOTIFICATION OF A DISPUTE
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This is formal notification of a dispute in accordance with Part 1 Clause 9 of the FENZ and NZPFU Collective
Agreement for Uniformed and Communications Centre Employees 1 July 2018-30 June 2021 (the CEA). In
notifying of a dispute the status quo as provided for in clause 1.9(i) Peace Obligation applies.
Please find attached the relevant correspondence on these matters.
Basis of the dispute
1. On 29 July 2019 CEO Rhys Jones provided in confidence to the NZPFU a draft “Building Fire and
Emergency New Zealand – proposals for our organisational structure and approach to rank - proposals
for consultation”. In the accompanying email Mr Jones noted “that the section of the document
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detailing our proposed approach to rank is yet to be updated to reflect the feedback received from
members of the USD Working Group over the last week”. We have yet to receive any updated
document. This timetable included in this proposal demonstrates FENZ’ intention to distribute the
document “for consultation” widely through its “consider this” electronic tool on 3 September2019.
2. In a letter dated 6 August 2019 the NZPFU set out its primary concerns regarding the absence of the
protection of the necessary rank, role and command structure that underpins current safe systems of
work. At a meetingwith national Commander Kerry Gregory and Deputy Chief Executive People
Brendan Nally we discussed these matters and Mr Gregory undertook to provide a written response
detailing FENZ’s intentions regarding rank, role and command. Our letter also detailed FENZ’s
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obligations to consult with the NZPFU and put FENZ on notice that its intentions to distribute the
proposal and consult widely with all FENZ employees. Contractors, consultants and others would be in
breach of our members’ rights under the CEA.
3. In a letter dated 7 August 2019 Kerry Gregory responded in part to our letter of 6 August. This letter
did not alleviate our concerns, and for the first time indicated that there was an intention to change
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rank for Senior Station Officer down albeit not in the current proposal. Mr Gregory did not respond to
the issue of consultation.
the
4. In an email dated 8 August 2019 the NZPFU detailed our concerns and the issues yet to be resolved on
the critical issue of rank, role and command.
5. We have not received a response to that email or those matters.
6. The “Building Fire and Emergency New Zealand – proposals for our organisational structure and
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approach to rank - proposals for consultation” included a consultation period of 3-30 September 2019
and that all information regarding the proposal and consultation would be published on the “consider
this” online system. The intention is to send an email to each and every FENZ email address with
access to the proposal and consultation through the online system. This will be simultaneously
provided to NZPFU members, all employees, contractors, volunteers (urban and rural) and in doing so
will be simultaneously consulted. This would be in breach of the consultation clause in the CEA.
Solution sought
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i.
FENZ met with the NZPFU for the purposes of discussing and resolving the critical rank, role and
command.
ii.
That the resolved rank, role and command issues be incorporated into the draft organisational
proposal with any necessary amendments to the proposal.
iii.
That it is only then that consultation can be undertaken, and must be undertaken in accordance with
the CEA.
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Yours sincerely,
Wattie Watson
_______________________________
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Ms Wattie Watson
National Secretary
New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union
Information
Email: [email address]
Mobile: +64 21 928 819
Office: [email address]
Web: http://www.nzpfu.org.nz/
Official
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