Professional firefighters' union members reject pay offer of 5.1% over three years
Photo:
RNZ / Tracy Neal
The union for career firefighters has rejected Fire and Emergency New Zealand's latest pay offer of a 5.1 percent pay increase over the next three years.
FENZ deputy national commander Megan Stiffler said they felt the offer, along with some increases to some allowances, was "fair" and balanced the cost of living pressures of staff alongside fiscal pressures faced by the agency.
New Zealand Professional Firefighters' Union (NZPFU) national secretary Wattie Watson said 99 percent of members who attended meetings had voted to reject the offer, and voted for industrial action.
Watson said it was an "appalling offer" that failed to address any of their concerns about the health and safety and the state of fire appliances.
They had been bargaining since the middle of last year, and firefighters had not had a pay increase since July 2023, she said.
Due to the delays, the 5.1 percent would not cover the lack of any pay increases for the past two years, Watson said.
FENZ said collective agreement settlement in 2022 had provided a wage increase of up to 24 percent over a three-year period for career firefighters.
However Watson said that settlement covered some of the years leading up to the settlement, and only covered wage increases until 2023.
She added that that increase was for correcting decades of firefighters being underpaid.
"That pay increase was a result of a process including government involvement, where it was proven that our members were so significantly underpaid when compared to other external workforces, and internally in FENZ - with corporate staff and HR staff - that there needed to be a significant uplift," she said.
Meanwhile, FENZ maintained that it had invested significantly in its people and resources.
"Fire and Emergency has also been investing in replacing our fleet, with 317 trucks replaced since 2017 and another 70 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," Stiffler said.
Watson however said that the 317 trucks mostly went to rural fire stations, and that currently the appliances at career fire stations in the urban areas were in a "dismal" state.
Watson said career fire stations were expecting to get 40 trucks in the next few months, however testing had discovered that many had problems and none were ready for commissioning, Watson said.
Trucks had been breaking down on their way to jobs, and pumps had also been breaking down - putting firefighters and the public at risk, she said.
Members deserved a reasonable pay increase that recognised the cost of living pressures, and a package that also addressed the safety concerns, Watson said.
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