Quote from: pumprescue on June 18, 2012, 02:57:25 PM
Speak up to the public, without fear of retribution from CFS management. They sure as hell don't do it.
After reading the article in the Tiser, I wrote a response with the truth as I see it as a member for more than 17 years, and emailed it to them and cc'ed it to the shadow Minister (as clearly the Minister doesn't really know what's going on). I have since had a call from both the reporter, who will write a follow up article, and the shadow Minister, who will bring it up with the Minister and the Chief at a meeting this week.
I have never seen fit to go to this extreme before, but I was incensed by the lack of understanding shown, both by Government and CFS hierarchy (which includes their so-called experts) as to why numbers are falling. It's not difficult to ask a volunteer and get an honest answer, but they don't seem to care - and that in a nutshell is the basic problem.
The only people who really seem to care about our service are the people who aren't getting paid a motza to do the job. Budgets seem to take precedence over volunteer welfare (ask any volly who has had to stand around doing nothing for hours on end in the middle of the night on strike team to stay out of the way of a dozer that is being paid for by the hour). Accommodation
or rest after a one day deployment night shift? No way - drive back to station with a driver who has been awake for over 30 hours. That no crew has yet been killed is a minor miracle.
I was paid well in the Army and I expected to be mucked (and they were experts and certainly got their moneys worth). I don't get paid for CFS service and so I don't expect to be mucked about to the same extent by amateurs who care more about budget than my welfare and don't appear to value my time.
I don't think the question is "why are numbers falling", I think the question should be "why are their any volunteers left?". Speaking for myself, I only stick around to see what they are going to do to me next.