Source: Etu Union
All 69 firefighters and emergency responders in Auckland Airport’s Airport Emergency Services team will strike for 24 hours from 6am on Tuesday 24 November, and again from 6am on Friday 27 November. The E tū members voted overwhelmingly for strike action after rejecting the airport’s latest offer.
The team provides aviation firefighting, rescue, marine response, and medical care across the airport around the clock, including on the Manukau Harbour. Flights cannot operate without them on duty. Auckland Airport said today that flights may need to be cancelled or diverted if the strikes go ahead.
Workers want two things: pay that properly recognises the specialist work they do, and fair compensation for the disruption caused by mandatory training overseas.
After the last round of bargaining, AES roles were assessed using SP10, a general job evaluation system from Strategic Pay. Members say it does not fully capture the physical, psychological, and operational demands of a job where crews make life-or-death decisions under pressure.
Training is the second sticking point. Auckland Airport’s live-fire training facility has closed after years of underinvestment. Firefighters now have to travel to Singapore for five days each year to meet Civil Aviation Authority training requirements, and from next year that becomes two five-day trips a year. Members say the airport has failed to properly compensate them and their families for the time away.
“After the last round of negotiations, our members were asked to take part in a full job evaluation process. We don’t believe that process captured what the job at AES actually involves,” says E tū delegate Jason Gannon.
“It doesn’t properly account for the physical effort and endurance the job takes, or the dangerous environments we work in. It doesn’t account for the psychological demands, the trauma we’re exposed to, or the risk of serious injury or death.
“It also misses the impact of shift work and what it takes to stay fit and ready for anything.
“That’s why we’re asking for 5.5% above the market median.”
E tū Assistant National Secretary Mat Danaher says the airport needs to recognise what it’s asking of these workers.
“When something goes wrong on that airfield, these are the people who run towards it. They protect passengers, airport workers, and the public, and they have to be fit, sharp, and ready every single shift,” Mat says.
“Our members took part in the job evaluation in good faith. We’re not saying the system is broken. We’re asking Auckland Airport to show it’s been applied fairly, because right now our members don’t believe it reflects what this job actually demands of them.
“On training, the airport let its own live-fire facility run down until it closed. Now firefighters are being flown to Singapore to keep their skills up, away from their partners and kids, and the airport won’t properly compensate them for it. That cost is landing on firefighters and their families.
“The real fix is a proper live-fire training facility here in Auckland. Until that happens, the airport needs to look after the people carrying the burden.
“Auckland Airport made $309 million in underlying profit last year and paid out $224.9 million in dividends. It can afford to do right by the team that keeps it open.
“Nobody wants to strike and nobody wants travellers caught up in this. We continue to bargain with the company in good faith and we want to reach a deal – this could be resolved tomorrow if they make a reasonable offer.
“Auckland Airport told the country today that its flights can’t operate without these workers. We agree. Now it needs to pay them like it.”
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/11/11/auckland-airport-firefighters-to-strike-over-pay-and-overseas-training/