The Employment Relations Authority has ruled that Fire and Emergency New Zealand breached its collective agreements and its good faith obligations to workers in how it handled its controversial restructure proposal.

The determination issued by the Authority today vindicates the challenge brought by the PSA and New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU).

"This is a significant win for our members and for every worker at FENZ who deserved to be treated with respect and honesty during this process," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

"The restructure needs to be canned once and for all. We call on the Government to end the uncertainty for workers and order FENZ to get on with its critical job of keeping New Zealanders safe in an emergency."

FENZ had planned to cut 97 non-fire fighting roles, and significantly change 66 other roles.

"FENZ worked up a sweeping restructure in secret for months, then gave unions 24 hours' notice before dropping it on the whole organisation including during the NZPFU annual conference and while PSA bargaining was under way. The Authority has confirmed that was unlawful."

According to the Authority, FENZ had not consulted with the unions early enough to allow for meaningful discussion about whether the restructure should occur at all and the reasons behind it. It also found FENZ breached its statutory duty of good faith.

The Authority’s findings were black and white. It said of FENZ's conduct:

‘These are not the actions of an employer who is being active and constructive in establishing and maintaining a productive employment relationship that involves being responsive and communicative with the other party to the employment relationship, which in this case is the Unions.’

"The Employment Relations Authority has called this exactly right," said Fitzsimons. "FENZ workers - communications staff, support staff in head office, regional workers across the country - who are all critical to the emergency response stood firm throughout this process. This ruling is for them.

"We are firm in the view that the cuts need to be shelved permanently. If anything, at a time of rising threats from extreme and severe weather events and more complex emergencies, now is precisely the wrong time to be gutting the workforce that responds to them.

"We call on the Government to ensure FENZ is properly funded so that cutting these experienced, dedicated workers is not the only option on the table."

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