Pay talks: Firefighters take industrial action

Firefighters will continue to respond to all fires, medical incidents and all emergency response, so it will not impact public safety, says union secretary Wattie Watson. File photo/SunLive.

Firefighters across the country are taking industrial action on Monday over pay, conditions, staff shortages and a lack of mental health support.

After more than a year of bargaining, New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union and Fire and Emergency New Zealand have reached a stalemate.

All members of the union went on an administrative strike at 12:01am today.

The strike notice says members who are covered by collective bargaining will not complete any of the mandatory administrative tasks required by FENZ, including gathering statistics, non-essential paperwork, training and attending conferences.

Firefighters will continue to respond to all fires, medical incidents and all emergency response, so it will not impact public safety, says union secretary Wattie Watson.

However, union members have voted to escalate industrial action should negotiations between FENZ and the union not progress.

Watson says staff shortages are one of the key issues facing professional firefighters.

'Most firefighters are working 100 hours a week, but there is only 168 hours in a week.

'We've tried avoiding this but, our firefighters are exhausted,” she says about the industrial action.

Firefighters have not had a pay increase since July 2020.

New professional firefighters earn about $43,000 a year, with most earning between $53,000 and $64,000. The payscale tops out at $88,000 a year.

Even the most basic admin job in FENZ gets paid more, Watson says.

The union had asked for an 18 per cent pay rise over three years. Under the FENZ offer, the bulk of members (more than two thirds) would receive a 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent pay rise, their first since July 2020.

'They are feeling hugely devalued and disrespected,” Watson says.

In addition to the dispute over pay, Watson says firefighters lacked the appropriate training to deal with the traumatic incidents they experienced on the job, especially when attending a medical call-out.

'Someone is either dying or dead when the firefighters are called out.”

The union does not believe FENZ is providing sufficient mental health support for this trauma.

Generally, the public is not aware of these aspects of the job, she says, adding that there is no additional pay for attending a medical call-out.

According to a St John report, FENZ responds to 96 per cent of St John out-of-hospital call-outs. Those call-outs include, sudden infant death syndrome, suicides, overdoses and cardiac arrests.

And with some fire trucks out of commission, there were gaps in the service firefighters were able to provide.

The strike notice was sent on May 27, but the union has been in discussion with FENZ since early 2021.

FENZ chief executive Kerry Gregory says firefighters already got support for 'psychologically demanding” work they did.

'The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union has recently rejected our offer for settlement and given notice of a partial strike. The industrial action will not impact on our crews responding to emergencies.

'I'm disappointed the union has rejected our offer and decided to take this industrial action. But I acknowledge their right to do so.”

Stuff reports that Gregory would not respond to claims outside the bargaining process.

-Stuff/.

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3 comments

I Certainly Hope

Posted on 13-06-2022 08:16 | By Yadick

They will go about it more professionally than St John did and not graffiti all over their vehicles as billboards. That was disgusting and absolutely appalling. To all the firefighters THANK YOU and I wish you well. You deserve it. Stay professional.


Good on them

Posted on 13-06-2022 08:40 | By Kancho

A hard job and like so many underpaid for the difficult and challenging traumatic situations they encounter


cough cough

Posted on 13-06-2022 15:50 | By Howbradseesit

They're actually paid pretty well, I know a few firey's and you would be surprised about what they can earn. They can also take on extra paid jobs in their time off. Don't feel too sorry for them guys.


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