Fire and Emergency received calls to 18 incidents during today's strike
Fire and Emergency New Zealand received calls for 18 incidents between 12pm and 1pm today, Friday 28 November, the time of the strike action by members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU).
Of these,13 incidents were in areas impacted by the paid firefighters' strike.
Eight of these incidents were in response to fire alarms that did not result a fire. The remaining incidents related to two motor vehicle crashes, two confirmed fires, and one request for assistance from an ambulance service.
The confirmed fires were a 1m x 1m scrub fire in Drury extinguished by the Pokeno Volunteer Fire Brigade and a small rubbish fire in Ranui which was extinguished by the occupant.
Our volunteers responded as normal to incidents within their brigade areas.
Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler thanked New Zealanders for their extra care during the strike hour.
"Thank you also to our more than 11,000 volunteers across the country, and their employers for supporting them to respond over today's strike hour," she says.
"I would also like to thank our Operational Commanders and Communication Centre Managers, who contributed to the response.
"We are disappointed that the NZPFU has issued further strike notices for one-hour strikes at 12pm on 5 and 12 December.
"I urge the NZPFU to withdraw these latest strike notices and not issue any more while the Employment Relations Authority is considering our application to provide facilitation.
"This is in the best interests of our people, and New Zealand's communities."
Bargaining
"The Employment Relations Authority is currently considering our application to provide facilitation to bring the parties together and work constructively towards a resolution," Megan Stiffler says.
"We don't see the point in putting the community at risk with this strike while that process plays out. The NZPFU's recent settlement proposal is three times more than our offer, which was fair, reasonable, and in line with other settlements across the public sector.
"Our offer of a 6.2 percent increase over three years would have taken the average senior firefighter remuneration from a range of approximately $80,700-$87,400 to $85,800-$92,900 at the end of the period, excluding overtime and allowances which currently adds an average of $38,800 to annual remuneration. We believe this represents a fair and sustainable increase for our people.
"We value our people, which is why over the past decade average senior firefighter pay has cumulatively increased by 37 percent - more than 10 percent above the average increase for all New Zealand workers.
"We will continue to work in good faith toward a fair and sustainable agreement, which is why today's action is completely unnecessary," Megan Stiffler says.
Note to editors
- Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union have been negotiating a collective employment agreement for paid firefighters since 16 July 2024.
- Fire and Emergency's recent offer amounts to a 6.2 percent increase over three years and compares favourably with equivalent public sector agreements.
- Fire and Emergency considers the offer is sustainable, balances cost of living pressures being faced by individuals alongside fiscal pressures faced by Fire and Emergency and is consistent with the Government Workforce Policy Statement.
- The previous 2022 collective employment agreement settlement provided a cumulative wage increase of up to 24 percent over a three-year period for paid firefighters.
- Fire and Emergency has also been investing in replacing our fleet, with 317 trucks replaced since 2017 and another 78 on order. We are currently spending over $20 million per year on replacement trucks. There is also a significant programme of station upgrades underway, as well as investment in training.
- For the 2025/26 financial year, Fire and Emergency's operating budget is $857.9 million. Of that operating budget, 59 percent will be spent directly on the frontline, while another 32 percent is spent on frontline enablers. This means that over 90 percent of Fire and Emergency's budget is spent on the frontline and the people directly supporting the frontline.