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Normally no news is good news, but after 50 strikes Dunedin’s professional firefighting force would disagree.
On Friday, firefighters once again took to the streets at noon to strike for an hour — their 50th strike since industrial action began last August.
Many feel like nothing has changed and they are no closer to coming to an agreement with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz).
New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) Dunedin secretary Senior Firefighter Mike Taylor said reaching the 50 strikes mark was an “upsetting” milestone.
“There is a fatigue from everybody, us and the public . . . but we really need the public to know this is still ongoing.
“We’re really at a complete stalemate.”
SFF Taylor said in some ways it was nice to have used the strike as a celebration of firefighter solidarity, but at the same they would prefer to just be getting on with their jobs.
Fenz and NZPFU have been locked in negotiations for a collective employment agreement for career firefighters for more than a year — after negotiation efforts last August failed, the NZPFU decided to start striking.
“I mean, there’s still nothing happening . . . and Fenz are refusing to negotiate still,” SFF Taylor said.
Despite Fenz being “stubborn”, firefighters would not give up, and they would not stop striking, he said.
“We can’t give up . . .’’
Talks between the union and Fenz centred on health and safety concerns, ageing equipment and staffing numbers and pay.
He said the issues were all still the same, almost a year on.
“We’ve still got the same issues, we’ve still got the trucks faulting, and we’re still running short-staffed through our stations.”
About two months ago, Dunedin received one of four finished retrofitted appliances from the United Kingdom.
“Then it was taken off the run, and it has basically been on-and-off the entire time.”
Now, all four of the trucks dotted around the country have been permanently taken off the run for “serious safety issues”.
SFF Taylor said the new truck was supposed to create resilience in Dunedin’s fleet, but had so far been a waste.
“It is all still happening, the public is still at risk, all the time.”
What was upsetting for many of the NZPFU members was that last time they went to industrial action in 2023, firefighters only stopped work twice before the two parties came to an agreement.
Fenz Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler said Fenz continued to call on NZPFU to stop “these reckless strikes” while they were engaged with the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) to try to come to a resolution.
“Most recently the ERA proposed both parties exchange their full revised bargaining positions at the same time, to help assess whether further facilitation is likely to assist.
“We agreed to this, the NZPFU did not.”
She said Fenz’s latest offer was to deliver a 2.2% increase from December 1, 2025, and then another 2% from January 1, 2027, over 24-month period.
NZPFU’s proposal was for more than $130 million over the same period, she said.
“That is not financially realistic at a time [when] we also have to keep investing in the trucks and equipment our people need to do their jobs safely,” DNC Stiffler said.
laine.priestley@odt.co.nz