DON’T GET FOOLED BY FENZ’S UNLAWFUL UNION BUSTING TACTICS
THEY WILL NOT CONQUER – THEY WILL NOT DIVIDE!
How low can FENZ leadership go? FENZ’s Senior Leadership reputations are in tatters, with the Prime Minister calling them a “Punch and Judy show” and their own Minister slamming their inability to provide accurate and current information.
Instead of addressing the dire state of the fleet or the lack of safe staffing, instead of making an offer to settle the bargaining, instead of trying to improve workplace wellbeing – FENZ has decided to resort to old-school union-busting tactics by offering individual employment agreements.
By pushing individual employment agreements, FENZ is attempting to sow distrust and divide the workforce with different terms and conditions of employment – the next step is likely to be an attempt to casualise the workforce.
FENZ has never understood that the NZPFU is invested in the health, safety, and wellbeing of members. Employment terms and conditions currently provided for in the collective agreement protect rights and entitlements. Without the NZPFU protecting the interests of members, FENZ would ride roughshod.
The NZPFU has been in discussions with the facilitator to get bargaining going. The one condition is that FENZ must come with an offer to settle. In March 2026, CE Kerry Gregory said they were working up a new offer – we have yet to receive anything. Instead, FENZ has announced divisive tactics by offering individual employment agreements in a bid to try and weaken the resolve of NZPFU members.
The NZPFU has accepted facilitated bargaining dates for the end of September 2026 on the proviso that FENZ comes with an offer to settle.
FENZ needs to stop these games – they are playing with the health and wellbeing of our members, including those who put the quality and quantity of their lives on the line to protect the community.
In July, FENZ announced a 2.4% pay increase for managers and staff who are not NZPFU members. FENZ has never offered 2.4% to the NZPFU.
FENZ is now offering individual employment agreements with 2.2 percent (less than the 2.4% given to managers) to recruit firefighters and dispatchers. Recruit Dispatchers start this week and a significantly reduced 12-person firefighter recruit course starts next week.
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Under the current Government, the protection for employees to be offered the collective agreement for the first 90 days was removed. New
employees used to have the protection of the collective agreement for the first 30 days. This change does not prevent the recruits and
dispatchers joining the NZPFU and being covered by the collective bargaining.
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FENZ has chosen to attempt to divide rather than settle the bargaining. They could have offered the recruits the terms and conditions of
employment as set out in the collective agreement.
For those already employed and being offered new positions/promotions, FENZ cannot lawfully bypass the union and directly bargain individual employment agreements with members.
For example, if a Senior Firefighter Officer Qualified is offered a substantive Officer position, FENZ cannot bypass the Union to negotiate directly with members.
Because the collective agreement is in expiry, all members covered by the bargaining remain on the same terms and conditions as set out in the collective agreement, but on an individual basis. FENZ cannot lawfully bypass the union to directly offer different/new terms and conditions to members.
ANY NZPFU MEMBER OFFERED DIFFERENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT SHOULD NOT BE COERCED INTO THESE DIVISIVE TACTICS!
Only accept appointments on the terms and conditions as set out in the collective agreement. If in doubt – call the union.
We will take any legal action necessary to protect our members' rights.
FENZ will claim the NZPFU was notified of their intention to offer individual employment agreements – we were not. We were notified after FENZ sent the instructions to managers and after the individual employment agreements were finalised with recruits. We believe they are being dishonest.
FENZ is using individual employment agreements to ramp up conflict – they are orchestrating a climate of mistrust in new employees or appointed employees. FENZ is rolling the dice on the ability of firefighters to trust each other on the incident ground. We will not let that happen. They want you to react and then they will discipline you for doing so. Focus your frustrations on those responsible for the attacks on your safe systems of work – not the recruits!
Why does FENZ want to do that? Because they want to stop our members speaking out about the dire state of the organisation and the atrocious safety issues. The only way they will do that is to come to bargaining with a fair and reasonable offer to settle the collective agreement.
There is a lot to lose and not really anything to gain in these individual employment agreements:
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The individual employment agreements specifically remove any provisions that include the union. Why? Because an un-unionised worker is
vulnerable to the bidding of the employer, including not being able to speak out about serious health and safety failings within the
organisation.
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FENZ will claim the new terms and conditions “reflect the market”, yet they are not offering the 2.4% they stated was the market rate
announced in July 2026 and paid to managers and other non-NZPFU members.
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FENZ will attempt to remove the security of employment protections provided in the collective agreement, including appointment to a specific
watch and station. FENZ will try to use individual employment agreements to have the right to send firefighters anywhere in NZ at any time,
regardless of the impact on the crews or your family. This is part of a strategy to casualise the workforce. If you have no security on
where you will work, what do you have?
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The NZPFU has a mobile phone claim in bargaining. FENZ will offer a mobile phone allowance, but there is an “overtime and callout” threshold
before it is paid. What they won’t tell the recruits is that FENZ has a “callout project” which will significantly reduce callouts (and is
therefore likely to put the threshold out of reach) if FENZ’s draft policy is acted upon.
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FENZ’s individual employment agreements will change the way in which annual and sick leave is calculated and will claim it is a “wording”
issue – the wording in our collective agreement protects sick and annual leave entitlements and payments. Do not be hoodwinked – changed
wording can change entitlements and protections.
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The NZPFU has a claim to increase the health monitoring reimbursement payment. FENZ will offer a capped increase to the new employees, but
recruits aren’t currently tested as FENZ has failed to implement medical testing for recruits, which they undertook to do in 2022! There is
no health monitoring programme equivalent for the dispatchers.
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FENZ’s offer will likely change the wording of the way in which wages are paid – since August 2024, we have known that FENZ has wanted to
change the current fortnightly method, which could result in serious fluctuations and disadvantages.
In recent Union meetings, there have been calls for more intense industrial action, including longer strikes. As always, the National Committee continually monitors events and always considers the calls for changes to industrial action, including increased strike action, from the membership. We will propose any changes to strike action when deemed necessary to do so.
In unity,
Wattie Watson
National Secretary
