Those wanting to add their names to a petition to support a change in how volunteer firefighters are treated under Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) legislation have until April 30 to sign.
This week the petition to parliament reached 30,000 signatures.
Originally launched by Katherine Lamont from the Queenstown Volunteer Fire Brigade, it calls for volunteer firefighters to get the same ACC coverage and benefits as their paid colleagues, saying that 12,000 volunteer firefighters are excluded from certain benefits because they are classified as non-employees.
The United Fire Brigades Association (UFBA) which represents and provides services to over 690 different brigades from urban, rural, paid, volunteer, defence, airport and industry brigades, supports the petition.
There are about 12,000 volunteer firefighters in New Zealand who make up 86 per cent of Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s frontline workforce. The Taupō district includes volunteer brigades in Taupō, Kinloch, Tūrangi and Omori.
Volunteer firefighters are well respected particularly in small towns, says a UFBA spokesperson.
“In those smaller communities they know who jumps on that truck when the siren goes.”
At issue are a couple of sections in the ACC Act 2001.
One area of contention is that volunteer firefighters are not covered for work-related illness or injury resulting from their firefighting duties because they are not paid and taxed for the work. If for example, says UBFA, a volunteer responded to a house fire and got a serious burn which meant they had to take time off work, ACC would accept the claim but only under the general accident protection coverage which provides a percentage of someone’s salary – though Fire and Emergency and the UFBA have a programme to top that up to 100 per cent.
However, under the “Cover for work-related mental injury” section of the Act, volunteers have no access to the coverage paid firefighters get. As it is, even paid firefighters who are eligible for compensation under this section must prove a single incident as the cause. Gradual process mental injury is not covered – though most firefighters are exposed to traumatic situations over a long period of time, which can result in a negative cumulative or gradual effect on their mental health.
Similarly, the section of the ACC Act dealing with “Personal injury caused by work-related gradual process, disease, or infection” – such as cancer, asthma, cardiovascular or musculoskeletal illness, hearing or vision loss – covers paid firefighters but not volunteers.
Paid firefighters also have access to a toxicology panel to assess their ACC compensation cover if they are diagnosed with cancer, says UBFA.
However, is says, volunteers are exposed to the same risk, the same trauma, the same carcinogens.
The UFBA’s goal is to get the current ACC legislation amended ahead of the next election.
“We’re looking for one person to take it forward and really advocate for this in the House. It won’t be an easy process for MBIE or ACC to work through, we absolutely acknowledge that, but we are willing to work with them to come up with solutions.”
The petition can be viewed and signed at: https://petitions.parliament.nz/5872f736-ed2f-443c-f919-08dd5b668762
