Nelson firemen expect national repercussions

Press, 11 August 1977, Page 3

Nelson firemen expect national repercussions

Nelson reporter Nelson airport fire crew! believe that an offer of pay-1 ment made to the airport! auxiliary firemen yesterday. l by the Civil Aviation Division of the Ministry of. 'Transport, could have nai|i nal repercussions. The permanent fire crew at present involved in a dispute about complement! [sizes, see in the Ministry’s; offer the attempt to employ “casual” firemen at the expense of permanent fire, staff. Confirmation of the offer! was made by the Assistant' Director of Civil Aviation (Mr T. R. Pike) in a hurried interview before his aircraft returned to Wellington’ yesterday. Mr Pike would not release full details of the offer. These, the auxiliaries’ reaction to it, and their acceptance of further fire-tender training (also to be paid for) would have to be referred back to the State Services Commission and Public Service Association, at whose instigation this meeting had taken place, said Mr Pike. He confirmed that Nelson auxiliary firemen, as well as continuing to be paid an annual retainer would be paid for reporting in the morning in time for the first flight into Nelson and being on hand at night for the last : flight out. It was later ascertained that the payment would be based on time and a half and double time for the firemen’s basic award rate. What the additional training 1 payment will be is not known. At the centre of the dispute is a new <sloo,ooo special fire tender, which is already a part of metropolitan

■ air force fire-fighting equipment. Nelson and Tauranga iwere the first of the 90C0B Idary airports to be equipped |with the new tenders, f our i others will go to Napier. 1 New Plymouth. Gisborne.■ and Wanganui. Nelson’s airport fire crew i was reduced last year front : si> to four with the result-1 ■ ant reduction from two-men! ito one-man crews. The firemen say that one man can 'not work the new tender b\ i himself and there were ru jmours that the auxiliaries) ■ were not keen to man it. jThey preferred to be in a| I "back-up” role in a smaller ’tender. j One man can undoubtedly ■ I work the machine, but the ifire crew say that for safety, i'reasons the complex mach-■ ine should be manned b\ ) ! two trained operatives and not untrained auxiliaries.) With this the auxiliary firemen have agreed. It was to j find out whether the auxiliaries were prepared to' man the tender that Mr Pike I came to Nelson yesterday, i On Tuesday reports indie-1 ated that some auxiliaries were not interested. Before he left yesterday. | Mr Pike said the auxiliaries] were quite happy to man the| machine after further special) training. For this they would) be paid, he said. Nine of the 13 auxiliaries are N.A.C. airport staff, i mostly loaders, and four are! members of the aircraft! engineering firm of Peter Lacey, Ltd. Mr Pike said that the aux-i iliaries at Nelson airport are) not the only ones to be. offered additional payment for their services. After August 15, and the withdrawal of the wage stabilisation regulations, all auxiliaries throughout the country would be paid more.