News

SitRep 48/2020

December 4, 2020

• End of Year Virtual Event
• Award Update
• First Meeting of Health and Safety Committee
• Retained Attendance Management
• Code Reds

End of Year Virtual Event

Wednesday 16 December 1830hrs – 1930hrs

Registrations are open but spaces are limited: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5KGXR6C

This year we couldn’t gather for May Day, couldn’t hold our Annual Rex Threlfo Toast and a planned Delegate Conference bringing together 110 delegates in our 110^th year had to be canned. That doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing the year out without doing something!

Join together on Wednesday 16 December for a short gathering with a very special guest to celebrate the year and look to our future. Register today and save the date – spaces are limited and delegates will get preference.

We’ll send more details soon.

Award Update

We met with the employer again today.

FRNSW put to us some discussion points around the D&D Award. Their main focus was to:

• change the way members can appeal decisions made by FRNSW about their fitness for duty
• take a closer look at how members can be reemployed within FRNSW
• negotiate a different method of payment for retained firefighters who aren’t able to operate an appliance but who are fit to work at the station in some way

As we only received these issues yesterday, we told FRNSW that we will consider them and provide a response before the next meeting scheduled for Friday 11 December 2020.

During today’s meeting we expressed our concern about FRNSW’s overall approach to date. It has been over a month now and FRNSW still do not have their bargaining parameters confirmed which means that they really don’t have the authority to negotiate with us on anything.

In our continued efforts to progress things, we took the opportunity to set out exactly what part of FRNSW’s claims we reject and what we are open to discuss further. Our response has been set out in a letter to the Commissioner which you can read here.

We expect to have FRNSW return to the table next week with a response to our claim and clearer bargaining parameters.

First Meeting of Health and Safety Committee 

The first meeting of your Health and Safety Committee was held this week with HSRs from across the job and state participating and chairing. The initial conversations were about the big picture issues and processes for how this Committee will work moving forward.

It was a great success and the culmination of a lot of work that puts us in a really good position to protect and improve the health and safety of all firefighters.

If you are a HSR remember to zoom into monthly meetings for updates.

The last meeting for the year is next Wednesday 9 December at 1830hrs.

Use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89752365818

Retained Attendance Management

As part of the jointly agreed upon COVID restrictions, Retained Attendance Monitoring was paused in light of the fact that responses, work patterns, and family arrangements were heavily affected.

On 2 October 2020, attendance monitoring was re-introduced. Almost immediately, numerous Retained firefighters received letters stating that their attendance over the prior six months was unacceptable.

The FBEU believe this was not appropriate as attendance monitoring was paused during those months.

We wrote to FRNSW and today we received a response stating that no attendance monitoring letters for Retained will be issued until 2 April 2021. This will take into account the six-month period between 2 October 2020 and 2 April 2021.

While we support the attendance management policy as outlined in the Award, where there is joint agreement on pausing monitoring for a period of time, this should be managed fairly.

This is a great outcome for our Retained members. If you have received an attendance management letter since 2 October 2020, please get in touch with the Union office at office@fbeu.net. Similarly, if you receive one prior to 2 April 2021, get in touch and we can assist you.

Code Reds

Both Code Reds issued 28 November and 30 November are still in place.

No Chargeable Codes on AFAs

Members are instructed to only use the below codes when sending a stop message at an AFA. This instruction remains in place until further notice from the State Secretary. Read the Code Red here.

Code 100 – (Actual fire reported by fire system)

Code 702 – (Alarm operated due to extreme weather conditions-rain, storm, lightning, thunder, dust, flood, rainwater leaking onto detector, etc)

Code 706 – (Council or water supply authority causes pressure fluctuation through water mains)

Code 707 – (Alarm operated due to power surge/spike or short circuit, blackout)

Code 751 – (Smoke detector operated – smoke from external source e.g. bushfire)

Code 762 – (Unintentional alarm e.g. accidental activation of Break Glass Alarm or Manual Control Point, damaged sprinkler head not attributed to owner/occupant)

Code 902 – (COVID – cause unable to be determined)

Senior Officers – Possible Restructure and CEPS

Members of the Senior Officers Sub-Branch covered by the Permanent Firefighters Award are not to enter into any discussions or meetings individually or in groups about a future or possible restructure of Field Operations until further instructions are made by the State Secretary.

Members are also instructed to suspend all involvement in CEPS until further instruction from the State Secretary.

You can read the Code Red here.

In Unity,

Leighton Drury

State Secretary

You can download this SitRep here.