Last week, the NZPFU National Council met with FBU General Secretary Steve Wright and staff to share the struggles each union is facing and fighting. The NZPFU had reached out to the FBU as the UK firefighters have weathered more than 10 years of sustained austerity which saw the loss of thousands of firefighters' jobs, dozens of stations and substantial reduction in fire appliances.
The Parliamentary Governance and Administration Select Committee has formally launched an inquiry into FENZ’s fleet management.
Members of Parliament across the political spectrum have listened to NZPFU members and this afternoon have announced there will be a Select Committee inquiry into the dire state of FENZ’s fire fleet.
While NZPFU members have not had a pay increase since July 2023, with some ranks struggling at below living-wage levels, FENZ conducts an easter-egg hunt for HQ staff and Region offices.
The FENZ Board, executive leadership, Public Services Commission and the Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden have no shame in boosting the FENZ Board members' payments up 79% while many firefighters languish just above the minimum wage and well below the living wage.
FENZ has made the decision to take money out of our pay before any strike action has even occurred.
That's a deliberate choice, and it is a serious escalation of the bargaining.
FENZ is deducting wages for strikes yet to occur, which is not lawful or reasonable.
The NZPFU is calling for an independent inquiry into FENZ to examine why FENZ has failed to manage funding to ensure that it has the capacity and capability for reliable emergency response to the New Zealand public, now and in the future.
Due to the moving extreme weather events warranting civil emergencies and deployments of additional resources including USAR and water rescue teams, and clean ups in the aftermath, the NZPFU has cancelled todays strike.
The Whanaungatanga Programme Wellbeing Survey will be sent to all FENZ staff on Monday 30 March 2026 and closes on 27 April 2026.
Yesterday the NZPFU wrote to Kerry Gregory setting out our concerns with FENZ’s attacks on our membership through its attacks on the union, the fact there are currently no plans to get back to bargaining, and warned that the current path FENZ appears to be on will have disastrous impact on emergency response to the New Zealand community.
In November 2025, FENZ dropped a 260-page document that affected more than 700 positions and more than hundreds of roles to be
disestablished.
The NZPFU and PSA filed an urgent action last year in a bid to stop the restructure claiming FENZ had failed to consult in accordance with
the provisions of the collective agreement.
Today the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) released its decision finding that FENZ failed to consult in accordance with the collective
agreement provisions, that it failed to consult on whether change should occur or at a time when the Unions could influence an outcome, and
failed to consult in a manner driven by a desire to reach consensus. It also found FENZ’s conduct breached the obligation of good faith.
Yesterday the ERA contacted the NZPFU requesting our availability for facilitated bargaining on the 30th and 31st
March 2026. There had obviously been previous communications between the ERA and FENZ (that we had not been copied into) and despite
requesting that correspondence we did not receive it.
The NZPFU accepted facilitation on the basis that FENZ would provide a new offer that CE Kerry Gregory had earlier told the Union it was
being worked on.
Today the NZPFU accepted two days of facilitated bargaining on the basis that FENZ brings an enhanced offer to the table.
We were contacted by the Employment Relations Authority today offering the 30th and 31st March for facilitated
bargaining. The NZPFU has consistently been calling for bargaining to recommence as we cannot resolve this dispute unless we are around the
table genuinely negotiating.
NZPFU members walk off the job for one hour from 12 noon today with no bargaining in sight.
In February the NZPFU wrote FENZ with the outcome of strike ballots taken during the national round of membership meetings in
February. We were asking for bargaining to recommence and proposed a process for tackling the big issues in particular.
NZPFU members will be out in force for one hour from 12 noon tomorrow as they continue their strike action in a bid for a fair and reasonable collective agreement.
Yesterday, the NZPFU notified our members and supporters that FENZ was spending between $70,000 and $99,000 a week on a media campaign against the NZPFU one-hour strikes.
The NZPFU FENZ bargaining is currently in abeyance with no bargaining dates agreed.
The parties met for facilitated bargaining on 7 occasions with the last session on the 13th February 2026. Facilitation has been adjourned
and, from the NZPFU’s perspective, that process was not successful.