Firefighters’ Collective Agreement ratified

New Zealand’s paid firefighters’ have ratified a proposed Collective Employment Agreement, Internal Affairs Minister George Hawkins says.

Members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union ratified the Agreement by a vote of 92 per cent in favour.

The new Agreement featured:

a three year term covering 1 July 2003 – 30 June 2006

a three per cent increase in wages and allowances in each of the three years

commitment to a revised firefighter training and progression system

a station management system with consequential removal of restrictive hours of work

a cost containment project to assist in meeting the cost of the settlement.

The Minister said he believed the Agreement would significantly improve firefighters’ training, as well as the way community services were planned and delivered.

The Minister congratulated the Fire Service and the Union on the Agreement and the positive spirit in which it was negotiated, particularly given the difficulties during the negotiation of the previous agreement during the 1990s.

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