However, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) said a wage reduction was necessary as the strike action would have "cut to the heart" of the organisation, and severely impacted its ability to serve the public.
New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) national secretary Wattie Watson said last week, the union gave Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) notice of new industrial action consisting of a ban on primarily administrative tasks or behind the scenes work that did not impact emergency response.
The notice was met with Fenz announcing they would impose a 10% wage deduction on union members.
The strike action was planned to begin on March 23, however, has since been scrapped.
"If Fenz management were genuinely concerned about public safety they would not threaten to deduct 10% of wages from each NZPFU member undertaking the administrative industrial action which does not affect emergency response," Ms Watson said.
"It has in effect meant our members cannot sustain industrial action that does not affect emergency response."
A 10% wage deduction would "cripple" some union members and impact their ability to get food on the table and pay rent, Ms Watson said.
Instead of the planned change in strike action, they would instead continue on with two one-hour full withdrawals every week on Monday and Friday.
It was also announced that Fenz would deduct one hour’s wage for the stoppages.
Fenz deputy national commander Megan Stiffler said the strike action would have "cut to the heart" of Fenz’s ability to serve the people of New Zealand.
She said it also had the potential to impact recruitment, training and preparing new trucks for service.
"The decision to withhold pay during strikes is a response to the NZPFU escalating its industrial activity, which has put the community at increased risk.
"We continue to call on the NZPFU to stop its twice-weekly full one-hour strikes while we work towards a sustainable employment agreement - there is no point gambling with the public’s safety while we remain engaged in this process in good faith. "
Last August, the NZPFU started nationwide industrial action after negotiations for a collective agreement with Fenz failed.
The strike action comes after months of negotiations for a new collective agreement.
Talks between the union and Fenz centred on health and safety concerns, ageing equipment, staffing numbers and pay.
