Wattie Watson: NZ Firefighters Union national secretary on Fire and Emergency NZ looking into cutting jobs

Fire and Emergency NZ is looking into cutting jobs in a bid to save $50 million a year.

It says it's in a tightening financial bind, and a significant restructure is on the cards - with consultation documents set to be sent to staff by next week.

NZ Firefighters Union national secretary Wattie Watson says Fire and Emergency has already cut a recruit course set to take place in January.

"We've got some real worries there - the recruit course that was being cancelled next year in January, that actually impacts on the normal recruiting."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Whatever duper z Ellen Fire an Emergency is looking at
cutting jobs as it tries to save apparently fifty million
dollars a year. Now, a consultation document is going to
be sent to the staff next week and final decisions
will be made just before Christmas. The Fire and Emergency says,
no call takers and no firefighters are going to lose
their jobs. Warty Watson is National secretary for the union,
the Professional Firefighters Union. With us now, hey what e Hi?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
How are you doing?

Speaker 1 (00:23):
I'm well, thank you. So they might not cut firefighters,
but are you worried they're not going to add new recruits?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yeah, well they pretty much. They are shimmering around this.
So a part of the outcome of the twenty twenty
two settlement of our Collective Agreement was the working party
to look at the ratios of the number of firefighters
needed to ensure trucks aren't going offline, in stations aren't
closing just for shifts, just due to the pure fact

(00:51):
that we don't have enough firefighters. We haven't really increased
firefighter numbers much at all since the nineteen nineties, and
there's a whole lot of pressures on firefighters and training
to comments the leave of course in injuries, etc. Which
means the ratio needs to change. That work was done
fendsa's own documents and work that they wanted. They came

(01:14):
up with a number of two hundred and fifty two.
I think it was there was a number that they
came up with additional firefighters, and then that just seemed
to stall. We've always been really clear that that number
would be dependent on what's actually happening in the districts,
et cetera. It might not be consistent throughout. Some districts
might not need additional firefighters, but we actually have to

(01:34):
do that work and implement where it is absolutely needed.
They're just keep they just won't give us an answer.
They've canceled the recruit course in January next year. They're
claiming that's because we're over establishment, which is just rubbish.
What was happening was, for example, Auckland was in desperate
need of the additional firefighters. Their management worked with the

(01:56):
union to implement a relief roster and recruited in for
that roster to keep the stations open. And our fenders
now claiming that's only temporary and that wasn't done with
approval so we've got some real worries there. The recruit
course that was being canceled next year in January, that
actually impacts on the normal recruiting, not just if there

(02:22):
was going to be any additional firefighters. So I think
firefighter numbers will be affected. I don't think firefighters in
their job right now will lose their jobs.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah, a little bit.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
I will have it.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, we will be coming. Thank you for running us
through that. It's Woody Watson, Professional Firefighters Union National Secretaries.
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