Second firefighter’s strike looms

Members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) went on full strike over their collective employment agreement on Friday.

And they have the support of both the Greens and National parties.

The Green Party is calling on Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) to agree to improve the pay and conditions of professional firefighters “who are on the front line risking their health and life to protect New Zealanders”.

“FENZ’s failure to agree to safe staffing levels, to upgrade equipment so it is safe and reliable, and to boost wages means firefighters will be on strike today (August 24) for one hour between 11am and 12pm, and again on Friday August 26,” said Jan Logie, Green Party spokesperson for workplace relations and safety.

“Firefighters put their health at risk to protect us, so it is crucial that we do everything we can to look after them.”

National’s Fire and Emergency spokesperson Todd Muller said the heat is on Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti to front up and speak to firefighters.

“With firefighters set to walk off the job at 11am (on Friday), the spotlight is on Jan Tinetti – the Minister responsible for Fire and Emergency NZ – to front up and listen to concerns after being invisible for months,” Muller said.

“It is appalling that she sees nothing wrong with FENZ’s lack of fiscal discipline, especially when the organisation’s fleet and equipment isn’t up to scratch after capital spend of $468 million over the past five years and $200m more in revenue than expected after its merger.”

FENZ deputy national commander Brendan Nally said reaching resolution with the NZPFU is a top priority.

“We have applied to the Employment Relations Authority for facilitated bargaining because we believe negotiations with the NZPFU have reached an impasse and we have little chance of reaching a settlement without the Authority’s help,” Nally said.

“I once again urge the NZPFU to withdraw its current strike notices while this facilitation process occurs.”