COMMISSIONER’S BUSINESS
ANZAC Day
NSW Fire Brigades ex-Services members again will form a contingent
for the Anzac Day March through the streets of Sydney, commemorating
the 90th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign. The NSWFB contingent
will be led this year by retired NSWFB Director General Peter Rath
AM and Assistant Commissioner Bob Dobson AFSM. A short ceremony at
the new City of Sydney engine bay will commence at 0800 hours on 25
April where Wendy Barrett, Director of Human Resources, and I will
lay wreaths in remembrance of the fallen.
The NSWFB contingent continues to enjoy unprecedented support and
is growing as time goes on. The contingent will comprise uniformed,
retired and administration staff. A flag and banner party, including
recruits from the State Training College, will participate. A barbecue
and refreshments will be provided at City of Sydney station for participants
after the completion of the march around noon.
All staff are encouraged to attend the commemoration ceremony and,
if eligible, march. For further information contact Michelle Hatfield
on 9265 2942 or Assistant Commissioner Bob Dobson on 9901 2403.
As a mark of respect, and in accordance with tradition, flags are
to be flown at half-mast at all occupied NSWFB Fire Stations and establishments
from dawn until 1200 hours on Monday, 25 April 2005, and then raised
to the peak for the remainder of the day.
Long Service and Good Conduct Medals
My congratulations to all recipients of the new NSWFB Long Service
and Good Conduct Medals and clasps awarded to Retained Firefighters,
Permanent Firefighters, Administrative and Trades Staff, the NSWFB
Band and the NSWFB Precision Marching Team. See today’s special
edition of In Orders for a complete list of recipients. Also, many
thanks to Cora Sarmiento, Maree James and Julia Simonides who worked
throughout last weekend to package and dispatch the thousands of medals
to Region and Directorate offices.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE
Ambos temporarily join firies at City of Sydney
Due to the redevelopment of Paddington Ambulance Station, a service
level agreement was signed between NSWFB and Ambulance Service NSW
last Wednesday to provide temporary co-location of Paddington’s
staff and resources with City of Sydney. An exact date when the ambos
will move in is yet to be decided, but the agreement comes after five
months of careful negotiation between the agencies and respective
unions. The successful resolution could not have been achieved without
the efforts of Superintendent Gary Meers who instigated the working
party. Congratulations Gary, and thank you to COS officers for welcoming
our Ambulance cousins so warmly. I am sure both agencies will learn
much from each other during the stay.
Incident reports
Stories submitted by firefighters on incidents they have attended
are one of the most popular features of the intranet. If you attend
an incident you think other firefighters would like to know about,
contact your local public affairs officer for assistance in writing
an intranet story. If you have pictures, please send them through
as well.
Last week I wrote about the community events focus on our external
web site and encouraged you to submit information on any events you
are involved in using the template on the intranet. Check out the
Community Events section on the NSWFB website for ideas on the types
of stories we are after.
RUMOUR MILL
Rumour: Is it true that all the senior officers
are not going to accept their 17% pay increase over 1 year as the
firies didn't receive that much and it just wouldn't be right?
Response: Claims made in the unauthorised and anonymously
edited "SPARX" newsletter that Assistant Commissioners,
the Commissioner and Directors have received a 14% increase over one
year are false.
Senior Executive Service (SES) officers received a 4% pay rise in
October 2004, and have averaged a 4% p.a. pay rise each year since
2000. SES pay rates are reviewed each year by the Statutory and Other
Offices Remuneration Tribunal (SOORT) which considers CPI increases,
wage movements, etc. SES officers have no way of making representations
for pay rises as do Union members, and rely solely on SOORT decisions.
SES pay increases have been equivalent to pay rises for firefighters
and other public sector agencies in recent years. However in the late
1990s, in some years the increases were less than the general increases
that firefighters received.
Following the expanded role of the NSWFB in recent years, SES positions,
with the exception of the Commissioner's position, were independently
re-evaluated and upgraded in 2003 from SES Level 2 to Level 3, with
the agreement of the Premier's Department. This brought Assistant
Commissioner and Directors’ positions in line with similar positions
in other agencies, for example the RFS, which in some cases were graded
more highly than their counterparts in the NSWFB. There had also been
wage compression and distortion of relativities between ACs and Chief
Superintendents due to lower increases for SES officers in the 1990s.
The 2003 review was in line with the normal job evaluation processes
across the NSW public service. In the NSWFB, many Operational Support
positions have also been upgraded in recent years via our internal
processes.
Rumour: Is it true that Tamworth and
Armidale are going to get increased staffing of firefighters this
year? And if it isn't true, when are they going to get increased staffing?
Response: West Region management is continually reviewing
the staffing composition at Tamworth and Armidale in relation to community
risk and changing demography and infrastructure. Proposals for staff
increases must undergo a rigorous assessment process through Treasury,
with development of a well-argued business case.
At this stage, both the Tamworth and Armidale communities are adequately
serviced by the current staffing configuration of Permanent/Retained
crewing. Consequently there will be no change at this stage to the
staffing levels.
Rumour: Is it true that on 2 April
at 50 Hornsby Station on C platoon a retained FF did a recall instead
of a permanent FF on C platoon for the entire day shift? This has
apparently happened on a number of occasions previously. Why has this
happened?
Response: It is the duty of the Commissioner to take
all practicable measures to protect and save life and property in
case of fire. Despite the best efforts of the on-duty Operational
Commander, and after exhausting all available avenues to recall permanent
firefighters to cover the absence at Hornsby, it was necessary to
call on the services of a Retained Firefighter to maintain the safe
and effective crewing of SO + 3. Under these circumstances a retained
firefighter was used to ensure safety and service delivery to the
community. The only alternative would have been to take the station
offline.
Rumour: Is it true that the NSWFB refuses
to inform firefighters that were unsuccessful in gaining a position
on the 2005 SOPP what position they came out of the 143 applicants?
Why is this, especially when the positions of the first 80 candidates
were published throughout the service?
Response: Currently we provide all candidates who
sit the pre-entry test their final marks allocated in the three subjects.
We do not give the ranking within the 143 candidates as we are conscious
of the detrimental effect it could have on some candidates who perform
poorly. We do however offer a review process in an attempt to assist
them in their future study requirements. We have adopted the same
position as most educational institutions, and that is not to divulge
a candidate’s positional placing other than those who fall within
the allocated number required.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Automatic fire alarm migration
On Friday 15 April the changeover of automatic fire alarms connected
to NSWFB stations to AFA service providers (AFASP) was completed.
The changeover process went very well overall, although there were
some delays. Across NSW we have successfully migrated more than 12,700
fire alarm systems in an area of over 810,000 square kilometres covering
338 fire stations and 177 local government areas.
I extend thanks and appreciation to all the staff at the Communications
section who have worked for the past six years to reach this point,
and particularly to SF David Coyte at Greenacre, SO Dennis Shepherd
at City of Sydney, FF Steve McLennon at Albury, Inspector Barry Waite
at Wollongong, SO Leo Ayoub at Tweed Heads and SO Max Beard at Taree.
Open Day
Open Day is now only two weeks away so your preparations should be
well underway. To help publicise Open Day in your local area there
are a range of materials which can be downloaded from the intranet.
Your Inspector can also provide ideas and tips on engaging your local
community.
UPCOMING EVENTS
International Day of Mourning
The International Day of Mourning, 28 April, is recognised worldwide
as a day to mourn workers who have died from workplace incidents or
disease. The International Labor Organisation marks the occasion as
World Day for Safety and Health at Work to focus attention on promoting
and creating a culture of safety at work and to help reduce the number
of work-related deaths.
On this day especially I remind all managers and employees of their
responsibilities in creating a safe workplace for our employees, CFU
volunteers and others working with us. Further information about the
International Day of Mourning can be obtained from the ACTU website.
Emergency Services v Australian Defence Force AFL
Tomorrow, Saturday 23 April, members of the National Emergency Services
AFL Team (NEST) will go head to head with the Australian Defence Force
(ADF). This annual event is a curtain raiser for the Sydney Swans
v Melbourne Demons AFL match at the SCG. The NEST team includes emergency
service employees from Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia,
Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales. The best of the
best have been selected to highlight the skills of our Emergency Service
workers and promote AFL within NSW.
The squad is brimming with confidence and ready for action on the
Anzac Day weekend match.
Frontline Tourers Ride
The Frontline Tourers, Australia's Emergency Services Motorcycle Touring
Club, is having a ride to Berrima on Friday 6 May. All riders and
pillions are welcome. The ride will depart from McDonalds, Narellan,
Camden Valley Way Narellan at 9:00am. The route will travel through
Picton and Mittagong. For more information ring Dave Ryan (Silverwater
B) 0403 099 082, Rex Meredith (Mount Druitt A) 0414 395 458 or Matt
Paynter (Ryde C) 0411 060 759.
COMMISH’S CORNER
Commissioner’s e-mail: Commissioner@fire.nsw.gov.au
Cora Sarmiento, Commish’s PA: 9265 2930
PACSU: fax 9265 2882
Commish’s Corner Rumour Mill: 9265 2627
To contribute a story, please contact Public Affairs Officers:
Stephen Norris (West) 9265 2613, John Suter Linton (South) 9265 2802
or Natalie Laharnar (North) 9265 2631
Cut off for submissions is 12:00pm Thursday