Firefighters agree on strike action after pay talks stall

Firefighters have rejected an offer to settle their collective agreement and voted to go on strike.

The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union has held 29 meetings around the country since early May, and counted secret ballots late last night.

Union national secretary Wattie Watson said pressing issues firefighters want Fire and Emergency to address include wages and working conditions and staffing ratios that have led to station closures.

She said firefighters do not want to have stoppages but there needs to be some "movement" from their employers.

The union had asked for an 18 percent pay rise over three years.

She said under the FENZ offer, the bulk of members (more than two thirds) would receive a 1.5 percent pay rise lasting for two years. They have not received any increase since 1 July 2020.

FENZ had made a "decent" offer for recruits and the first level of firefighters but there remained several other wage issues where the two parties disagreed.

Dates for any strike action are yet to be decided and could take several forms, she told Morning Report.

Firefighters do not want to walk off the job.

"But they will do the stoppages if we can't get FENZ around the table to talk sensibly and constructively about some movement and that movement includes wages and terms and terms and conditions."

Members were also concerned about safety both for themselves on the job but also for the public.

Recently, firefighters had begun to speak out on station closures and staffing ratios.

Despite a rise in population staffing levels had not changed since 1980, Watson said.

"But even just at that staffing level we can't maintain that currently because the ratio is wrong.

"Now FENZ admitted in bargaining the ratio is wrong - but refused to deal with it in bargaining."

A course for new recruits had been cancelled last month, putting further pressure on staffing ratios, she said.

Only a handful of new staff were being appointed each year.

Union members had voted on four different types of industrial action, Watson said, adding she would be contacting FENZ today.

"We'll hopefully get some discussions up and running. But the reality is if FENZ does not address some of these serious matters ... then unfortunately there will be stoppages and they will affect the country."

Getting some employer support for their health and wellbeing and occupational cancers were among issues troubling firefighters, she said.

It's 'a fair offer' - FENZ boss

Fire and Emergency NZ chief executive Kerry Gregory said the union had put more than 100 proposals on the table and these would cost more than $300 million, more than half of the organisation's total operating budget.

"We've done a lot of work together to bring that down to what we consider is a really fair offer."

The overall increase for staff was 3.3 percent which was split up, meaning some junior firefighters would receive a 11 percent pay rise while the two grades above the juniors would receive a 7.5 percent increase.

Pay was structured so that firefighters' pay was benchmarked against other professions, however, the union has not agreed to this since the end of last year.

He accused the union of using "alarmist language" around staffing levels being the same as the 1980 number.

The new recruits course cancelled last month would be held later in the year, Gregory said.

There had been variations in staff numbers since 1980 but staffing was sufficient to serve communities.

"We've got enough staff to ensure that we provide the service that we need to to New Zealand."