Update

Be heard and do the survey to improve equity for Volunteers

Issue date:

The UFBA Campaign demanding fairer, more equitable cover for volunteers is well underway. Thank you to the 929 members who have already completed the survey, showing 97%+ support for better ACC cover, rehabilitation and mental health support.  The comments provided by members in the free-text area are providing excellent anecdotal information to also strengthen the case being made.

The UFBA has been meeting with political parties and government agencies to both educate and see what can be done here. It does not make any sense for the Minister of ACC, the Honourable Carmel Sepuloni, to say that “it would not be fair to provide cover for one group of volunteers and not others, as that would be misaligned with the Scheme’s purpose to provide fair cover, and that she is committed to keeping the ACC scheme financially sustainable”. The UFBA argues that the risks and dangers FENZ volunteers face in their 24x7 protection of NZ communities, is not comparable to the work of most other volunteer roles, and that this is deserving of ACC cover.

Data obtained by the UFBA, from FENZ, show that over a 20-year period volunteer firefighters attended 63% of road crashes, 55% of medical responses, 47% of structure fires in the built environment, 68% vegetation fires in the natural environment and 49% of rescues.  Volunteer firefighters respond to emergency incidents across 95% of NZ’s landmass.

You don't have to be a current Brigade member to complete the Campaign Survey. You will need a unique code to access the anonymous survey hosted by AskYourTeam – check your FENZ email for the code. If you don’t have it, it means the UFBA doesn’t have a current email for you.  Easy, contact us at connect@ufba.org.nz to share your details.

Get online and “Be heard”.