Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Fire and Emergency New Zealand received calls for 18 incidents between 12pm – 1pm today, Friday 17 October, the time of the strike action by members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU).
Of these,10 incidents were in areas impacted by the strike.
Three of these incidents were motor vehicle crashes. The remaining incidents related to building alarms, which Fire and Emergency was alerted to through building alarm systems or 111 calls. None of these were confirmed fires.
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 to our more than 11,000 volunteers across the country, and their employers for supporting them to respond over today’s strike hour.
“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 a further strike notice for another one-hour strike at 12pm on 31 October.
“I urge the NZPFU to withdraw this latest strike notice and not issue any more, so we can get back around the bargaining table while we wait for our application for facilitation to be considered.
“This is in the best interests of our people, and New Zealand’s communities.
“Fire and Emergency ‘s goal is, and has always been, to reach a fair, sustainable, and reasonable settlement with the NZPFU. We are bargaining in good faith and doing everything we can to achieve an agreement without disrupting the services communities rely on.”
1. Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union have been negotiating a collective employment agreement for career firefighters since 16 July 2024.
2. Fire and Emergency has offered a 5.1 percent pay increase over the next three years, as well as increases to some allowances.
3. 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.
4. The previous 2022 collective employment agreement settlement provided a cumulative wage increase of up to 24 percent over a three-year period for career firefighters.
5. 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 are also a significant programme of station upgrades underway, as well as investment in training.
6. 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.
