The Department is again complaining about having difficulty attracting applicants for Operational Support vacancies across FRNSW, so we offered to do something about that for them.
While there might not be much financial incentive for Station Officers to apply for an OS Level 2 position, the table below shows why there are still thousands of reasons for firefighters to do so:
Rank
per annum
OS2 per annum
OS2 extra
Station Officer
$ 98,118
$ 98,397
$ 279 pa
$ 5.34 pw
Leading FF
$ 86,530
$ 98,397
$ 11,867 pa
$ 227.43 pw
Senior FF
$ 81,894
$ 98,397
$ 16,503 pa
$ 316.28 pw
Qualified FF
$ 77,258
$ 98,397
$ 21,139 pa
$ 405.12 pw
The above figures do not include the extra superannuation received either, nor do these increases take into account the benefits of broader career development and experience within FRNSW. If you’re an LF, SF or QF who’d like a change, or a wage rise, or both then keep an eye out for future Operational Support vacancies in Commissioner’s Orders because if management is right about the shortage of applicants then you’ll never have a better chance to land the position.
Annual Leave swaps
The Permanent Award’s subclause 17.11 allows members to swap one or more sets of shifts with one another, up to three rostered leave periods in advance in order to allow members to plan major holidays more than twelve months ahead. The reference to “sets of shifts” means just that (ie, four 10/14 shifts, or two 24 hour shifts). This means that members can now swap a four set leave period for a three set leave period and still taking the remaining set off themselves. For example:
Firefighter White wants to swap his short leave group for Firefighter Black’s long leave group. Firefighter Black agrees to swap three sets of his leave group for the whole of Firefighter White’s leave group, but will still take the fourth set of his own leave period off to avoid being disadvantaged. So Firefighter White takes three sets of Firefighter Blacks’s leave group and Firefighter Black takes his leave in two separate periods – the first being Firefighter White’s three sets and the second being the remaining (fourth) set of his own leave period.
Swapping annual leave is subject to written application and approval so management can avoid qualification/staffing shortages. While management can refuse, members can improve the likelihood of approval by arranging to swap with another member within their zone and on their platoon.
CAFS staffing resolved
Further negotiation and conciliation since SITREP 14 has resulted in agreement being confirmed in the IRC for permanent and retained staffing of CAFS tankers on the terms proposed by the Union in correspondence dated 17 May.
Darin Sullivan
President and Acting State Secretary
For a printable copy of this SITREP, please click here.
