NZPFU TO MEET WITH FENZ BOARD NEXT WEEK

Last week, the NZPFU notified FENZ that 99% of members had voted down their dismal, disrespectful 2.2% offer, with 99% also voting no confidence in the Board or executive leadership team. We also informed FENZ that 88% had voted for four 10-hour strikes to take place before Christmas.

The NZPFU then formally notified FENZ of a 10-hour strike from 1pm to 11pm on the 27th of November 2026.

As there are legal requirements for the notification of strikes, the NZPFU has today issued notice for the second of the 10-hour strikes. The notice issued today is for a 10-hour strike from 1pm to 11pm on the 2nd of December 2026.

The NZPFU has been clear that the strikes will be lifted if there is an agreement by FENZ and/or the caretaker coalition government to a process for genuine, good-faith bargaining, which includes having the right people in the room. We can lift the strikes if there is an agreement on who is going to be in the room, with access to funding for a reasonable and fair settlement.

FENZ has already demonstrated it is not willing to bargain fairly or reasonably when it presented an offer of 2.2%, when in July it declared the “market rate” increase for everyone else was 2.4%.

It is clear we must have the right people in the room to hold FENZ to account to negotiate with a genuine desire to reach a reasonable settlement that addresses all issues, including safe staffing levels, reliable appliances, equipment, and training, as well as fair wages and conditions.

The NZPFU National Committee will meet with the FENZ Board next week seeking the Board’s support in requiring FENZ, with the right people in the room, to bargain genuinely with a real desire to settle the bargaining.

We believe our request is not only reasonable, but necessary for a pathway to bargaining a fair and reasonable agreement.

The Board Chair, Raveen Jaduram, fronted up to the NZPFU Conference on Tuesday and was candid in his approach with the representatives from the 19 NZPFU Locals and National Committee.

In answer to questions, Mr Jaduram expressed a desire to pay the NZPFU, and in particular firefighters, better, and stated that it was not reasonable that they had not had a pay increase for three years. He was not specific about the level of pay increase but spoke positively about wanting to work cooperatively with the NZPFU to reach agreement on the bargaining process so that a fair and reasonable settlement could be reached. He indicated that the Board will be willing to agree to who needs to be in the room and how that can be achieved.

Mr Jaduram accepted there were “deeper organisational issues” that underpin the recent “level of turbulence that has unfolded”, referring to the Parliamentary Select Committee Inquiry into the management of FENZ’s fleet, issues of operational capability, concern around organisational culture, the bargaining dispute and ongoing industrial action, the restructure proposals (which the NZPFU and PSA have again referred to the Employment Relations Authority), the use/costs of consultants and contractors instead of using internal capability, and the resignation of CE Kerry Gregory after the Minister publicly declared no confidence in him when he kept a serious historic matter—that has since been referred to the Serious Fraud Office—from Internal Affairs and her Office for a year.

Mr Jaduram set out his personal five observations he believes are important “if we are serious about building a better Fire and Emergency New Zealand”.

• Capability matters more than narrative – can FENZ deliver on what the public expects of it? Can firefighters rely on their equipment, can they access effective training, can operational concerns be raised by the frontline to management to act properly on, and can communities rely on FENZ’s emergency response?
• Trust is built on accuracy – the Parliamentary Inquiry highlighted instances where information provided by FENZ was inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading. “As Chair, I have made it clear that accuracy, transparency, and candour are not optional qualities for this organisation.”
• Culture is revealed during periods of pressure, and the reality is that FENZ personnel do not feel their concerns are heard and important operational decisions are made far too far from the realities of operational life.
• Complexity is not the same thing as effectiveness – there are highly capable people throughout FENZ, so why is FENZ using consultants and contractors without fully utilising the expertise within?
• Optimism for the future – optimism does not come from ignoring the problems, but from recognising the problems can be solved. The resignation of CE Kerry Gregory marks the end of the chapter, and a new CE will begin another chapter. The future depends on whether FENZ is prepared to learn from this period. Success would be FENZ being operationally capable and financially disciplined.

Mr Jaduram said the organisation had to rediscover confidence in itself. “Confidence does not come from slogans or strategy documents; confidence is born from competence and earned through performance and trust. Confidence is doing the basics exceptionally well, year after year. The communities of New Zealand deserve that. The people of Fire and Emergency New Zealand deserve that.”

If the Board Chair follows through with his stated view of FENZ and where it needs to head, there is a lot of common ground the NZPFU can work with. Mr Jaduram appears to be willing to admit to the serious systemic issues and what it will take to turn the organisation around to be the fire and emergency service it needs to be, with resourcing refocused on emergency response and public safety through fire prevention. He will need to first hold the senior management to account. It is the Union’s view that this will require a clean-out of the executive leadership team, stopping the restructure until a full and accurate review of the state of FENZ’s capability, capacity, and financial status is determined, as well as working in collaboration with the NZPFU to achieve safe staffing and resourcing, and fair and reasonable wages and conditions as a priority.

In unity,
Wattie Watson
National Secretary