Firefighters to strike after rejecting collective employment agreement

Firefighters across New Zealand voted to strike after rejecting the collective employment agreement offered by the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) amid the staffing crisis felt across the industry.

In an announcement, the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) said 99.3% of its members rejected FENZ's offer.

There was also a "landslide of support" for strike action after union members voted in favour of various strike actions. According to the official ballot, 93% to 97.5% of the union members were in favour of the strike actions, which included stoppages.

"The incredible results confirm FENZ's offer and communications from the CEO only serve to devalue and disrespect NZPFU members," said NZFPU national secretary Wattie Watson in a statement.

According to Watson, members have since reported feeling "empowered" by the proposed action, which will allow the union to campaign for fair terms and conditions of employment and guaranteed resources to protect the community.

FENZ reacts

In response to the announcement, FENZ chief executive Kerry Gregory said they were surprised that the firefighters would consider taking strike action, as this means putting people and property at risk.

Gregory also expressed disappointment that the collective employment agreement was rejected by the union.

"I'm extremely disappointed that the union has rejected our offer which was a fair offer, in line with public service guidance," said the official as quoted by Stuff.

"We will be carefully considering the approach we take to keep the public safe during this time by initiating our contingency plans."

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The strike can be regarded as the climax of the growing frustration of union members on the firefighting industry's staffing issues, among others.

In a previous statement, the NZFPU said the firefighting staffing issue continues to be at "critical levels with no fix in the immediate future likely."

According to the union, the information they obtained from the FENZ revealed that it has "no current schedule to review career firefighting staffing in Auckland."

"Career firefighter staffing is at crisis levels in many parts of New Zealand. Many of these career firefighters will have already worked in excess of 70 and 80 hours this week, and unfortunately due to a lack of historic planning and investment from Fire and Emergency career firefighter numbers have not kept up with massive population growth, urban sprawl and density, and diversifying emergency type."

It also pointed out the following crises that it accused FENZ of not managing well, including:

• Fire trucks constantly breaking down
• Protective Uniform that is inadequate
• Lack of firefighter staffing around the country
• Failed Unification projects
• Huge corporate bureaucracy
• Lack of accountability on spending priorities
• Devalued volunteer and career staff

"Fire and Emergency is in crisis and has lost its way," said the union.