Kerre Woodham: Let the well-paid decision makers take a pay cut for getting things wrong

I heard Mike Hosking this morning talking about the significant pay rise expected to be given to professional firefighters later this year.  

Firefighters will get a 24 per cent wage increase under a $145 million settlement agreed upon by Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) and the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) today.

It signals the end of a gruelling 18 months of negotiations that could be coming to a close.

The draft collective has yet to be ratified by the union members, a process expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Firefighters have walked off the job twice this year amid six-month-long industrial action as they attempted to gain guaranteed mental health and wellbeing programmes as well as ongoing access to psychological professionals. 

It wasn't just about the money - NZPFU and FENZ have agreed to provide life-saving blood screening for the early detection of firefighters’ occupational cancer and other illness, as well as medical response recognition for firefighters and dispatchers.  

They have also agreed to provide psychological support and a supervision programme for firefighters and dispatchers.  

FENZ chief executive Kerry Gregory said the now acceptable proposal was only made possible due to Government funding.  

Minister of Internal Affairs Jan Tinetti revealed today the Government has agreed to provide funding support of a $75.4 million repayable capital injection to FENZ. 

Hosking was critical of the pay rise not because he doesn't believe firefighters aren't worth it, but because at a time of high inflation, a 24 per cent pay rise funded by the Government, sends the wrong signal. 

Adrian Orr has said to stop spending - the Government is giving a significant sum of money to firefighters which inflames the wage price cycle.  But why on earth should ordinary Kiwis pay the price for the significant stuff ups of others? 

It is going to be a tough year ahead for your ordinary, average, mortgage-paying New Zealander.  Some will lose their jobs.  Some will lose their homes. Through absolutely no fault of their own.  They haven't been slack or spendthrift. 

They will just fall victim to a recession that is being deliberately engineered by people earning $500,000 - $700,000 a year.  And their wages are paid by the very people who will be the real life collateral damage of their decision making. 

Where is the accountability for well-paid public servants who cock things up and then expect other people to pay the price? 

Sure, we can vote governments out if we think they have made terrible decisions that will impact the country for generations, but that hardly seems punishment enough. 

But what about the Treasury, the Reserve Bank, the Health Department - all of those people in high-paying jobs who will never know the sick dread of seeing mortgage payments rise beyond their ability to pay, the fear of wondering whether they'll be able to find another job at 50. 

Why on earth should the ordinary average Kiwi who never had a say about these decisions have to pay the price. Where will the 24 per cent come from to pay the firefighters? 

Let the decision makers take a 25 per cent pay cut for getting it wrong. They should pay for their mistakes, not us.

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