SITREP 002/21
08/09/2021
COVID 19 VACCINES
Members would be aware that several employers, most recently Qantas, have announced that they will require their employees to be vaccinated as a condition of their employment. Consequently, some members have expressed concerns that Airservices may follow suit.
This is a question that we have put to Airservices on several occasions, to date they have indicated that they are not inclined to pursue the mandatory vaccination of their staff.
Last week the UFUA National Executive met to discuss its position on this issue. As a result, the following resolution was carried.
“In recognition of the risks faced by firefighters in responding to emergencies during the COVID 19 pandemic, and in particular recognition of the risks posed by duties in emergency medical response, the UFUA National Executive recommends that members, subject to the advice of their medical practitioners, obtain COVID 19 vaccinations. The UFUA National Executive does not support the mandating of vaccinations through the use of employment law”.
On the question of vaccination, the Aviation Branch encourages its members to seek medical advice from medical practitioners. We are aware that vaccination and our members’ personal positions on this issue cover a broad spectrum of opinion, and we ask that members regardless of where it is you stand acknowledge that we are all in this together. As requested by members who have genuine concerns over this issue, we have sought legal advice should the current settings change at some
point in the future.
To those members and their families that are doing their best to go about your daily lives in areas that are currently in heavy lockdowns, please look out for each other. And if you or someone you know requires support or assistance during this time please consider the following resources.
UFUA peer support - Les Daly 0419 321 645
MENTAL HEALTH HELPLINES
CONVERGE EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
TASK RESOURCE ANALYSIS
The TRA workshop and risk assessment sessions continue to rollout across ARFFS. Over the last several weeks workshops have been conducted in the following locations: Hamilton Island, Hobart, Mackay, Avalon, Cairns, Canberra, Coolangatta, Darwin and Adelaide. Well done to all staff who had an opportunity to participate, the more that are able to offer their input the better the outputs will be. The following locations will be in line for a workshop sometime in the near future: Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
The level of consultation offered to the UFUA over the past months has not been at the standard we believe to be genuine or meaningful, as we were excluded from the risk analysis element of the workshops. This situation held the potential to put us in dispute with Airservices. Late last week this situation was remedied, we now have an employee representative invited to participate in the risk analysis phase of the workshops. Sometime in the next week or so Airservices will provide our representative with a brief on the information and data gathered during our absence.
UFUA ENDORSES AIRSERVICES BA SAFE SYSTEM OF WORK (SSOW) POST IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW SURVEY
Our new BA SSOW is a critical operational safety control and because of this it is extremely important that our understanding and application of these procedures is sound and consistently applied across ARFFS.
The survey seeks to collect data that will be used to underpin the drafting of a report focussed on the implementation, development, and effectiveness of the BA SSOW rollout to date. A key component of qualifying any data is high participation, and that’s why we’re calling on our members to get on board. Involvement in the survey will allow members to highlight the positives, the negatives and how familiar and comfortable they are operating within this system.
REMINDER UPDATE OF BRANCH DATABASE
We will soon be transitioning our Branch database over to a program called Xero. Xero is a cloud based all in one financial/ management/ database software package which will streamline a number of administrative and accounting processes as well as increasing security and ease of access to our information going forward. As a result, now is the time to ensure that we have your correct details on file. Could all members please complete our Members Database Update form (link provided below) and email back to our office administrator Gail so it can be entered into our new database.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE MEMBERS DATABASE UPDATE FORM
REMINDER UFUA-AVIATION BRANCH BLK CLOTHING PORTAL IS OPEN
The Portal will be open until Sept 15th. The UFUA-AV has worked hard on this range to ensue anatomical options for both men and women. We are proud to have such an extensive, comfortable range available to our members.
CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS TO THE BLK CLOTHING PORTAL
OFFICER AND RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
In line with the requirements of the Registered Organisations Commission (ROC) members can access a copy of the Officer and Related Party Disclosure Statement by clicking the link below.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE OFFICER AND RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURE
In Unity,
Wes Garrett
Secretary
UFUA Aviation Branch
Email: ufua.aviationsecretary@gmail.com
Mobile: 0459 945 288
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