4 minute read
New Zealand Security Association CEO’s September Report
NZSA CEO Gary Morrison provides an update on Fair Pay Agreements, Electronic Security good practice workshops, industry standards and codes of practice, and the state of the economy.
Gary Morrison is CEO of the New Zealand Security Association (NZSA). A qualified accountant, Gary was GM of Armourguard Security for New Zealand and Fiji prior to establishing Icon Security Group.
Update re Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) As we have reported previously, the Fair Payment Agreement legislation is currently going through the Select Committee phase and will in all probability be passed into law before the end of this year.
Security Guards have been publicly mentioned by the government and unions as one of the first industry sectors likely to be involved in bargaining under the FPA legislation and whilst dependent on a ratification process, it is almost certain that the NZSA, as the peak industry representative body, will be the nominated as the negotiating party for industry employers.
Given that the legislation is yet to be finalised or passed into law, we need to be careful that we do not prejudge our position however we have consulted with employment relations specialists and continue to maintain regular communication with both MBIE and Etu.
We have also created a FPA tab on our website – currently this provides guidance materials from MBIE and in due course, we will use this as a conduit for communication with industry employers who will covered by the FPA legislation.
Electronic security good practice workshops Earlier this year, the Compliance and Standards Working Group within the Electronic Security Special Interest Group (ESSIG) identified a significant and worrying gap in industry knowledge of what Standards, Guidelines and Codes of Practice exist, and of most concern, what constitutes “good practice”.
With input from the ESSIG, the NZSA worked with industry experts
Rosemary Killip (CEO for Building Networks) and Lincoln Potter (Independent Consultant) to develop a half day programme targeted at Access Control IQP’s, Security Technicians, Supervisors and entry level/apprentice technicians.
The programme has been delivered during August via meetings in Auckland and Christchurch and two on-line sessions. The response to the workshops has been exceptional with in excess of 140 attendees and very positive feedback.
For those who have been unable to attend, we have recorded one of the on-line workshops and this will be available via our training portal in the near future.
Based on the feedback received, it is our intent to run further good practice workshops in the future - probably on a six-monthly basis, and we welcome all suggestions on areas/issues for inclusion.
Industry standards, codes of practice and guidelines As part of the good practice workshops, presenter Lincoln Potter has asked those attendees who are familiar with, and have access to industry standards, codes of practice and guideline documents, to raise their hands.
The result has been very disappointing with only a small number at each workshop responding positively.
We would like to remind the industry that the NZSA provides complimentary access for members to many of these documents and in fact, many are free to all industry.
Resources available via the NZSA website include: Under Good Practice Guideline and Industry Codes of Practice tab on home page (free access to all): • Security Industry Good Practice
Guideline (Protective Security) • Access Controlled Doors Code of
Practice • Compliance Schedule Reference
Guide • Electro-Mechanical Controlled
Locking Devices Code of Practice • MBIE Compliance Schedule
Handbook
Under Member Resources – Standards NZ: • NZS 4514-2021 Interconnected
Smoke Alarms for Houses (Free
Access) • Other standards (Restricted access to NZSA Members on request.
Please see our website for the full list of available standards.
Chorus copper withdrawal update Chorus have advised that they are now in the process of transitioning the Copper Withdrawal programme from a test and trial phase into business-asusual channels.
For general enquiries please contact copperwithdrawal@chorus.co.nz. Chorus have also advised that they have been receiving information requests from security providers with regards to the retiring of PSTN services. They advise that Chorus have no affiliation to the PSTN exit activity and that this a Spark and industry initiative. Enquiries with regards to the PSTN exit plan can be directed to https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/ landline/landline-migration/.
Crowded places strategy As our borders open and we start moving towards summer, it is timely to review and be familiar with the crowded places strategy documentation – both for personal and business purposes.
The resources are comprehensive and include guidelines, posters and self-assessment tools that can be used with in your business or even provided to customers where appropriate. For more information refer to the Police website.
Are we heading for a recession? Without wishing to finish this report on a negative, recent data releases have all provided strong evidence that our economy is heading towards a hard landing and the probability of going into recession next year.
The last few years have proven the resilience of the security industry during tough times but is important that business owners and managers give consideration to the possible ramifications of this – particularly where major customers may be impacted.
The retail trade statistics for the last quarter highlighted significant drops for those in the homeware and building supply sectors as a result of dropped consumer demand. Regions most impacted were Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Gisborne, Manawatu, Wellington and Nelson.
I’m certainly not saying time for panic but along with high inflation, wage pressures and a tight labour market – it is certainly worthwhile keeping an eye on these trends and being prepared for possible customer drop-off or contraction of services.
As always, we welcome all comments and feedback on NZSA or industry issues and activity.
