NZPFU members are into their 6th month of strikes with FENZ refusing to table an offer they said six weeks ago they were working up.
The NZPFU has notified of the following one-hour full stoppages:
- 12 noon to 1 pm Friday 24 April
- 7.30am to 8.30am Wednesday 29 April
- 12 noon to 1pm Friday 1 May
- 4.30pm to 5.30pm Wednesday 6 May
- 12 noon to 1pm Friday 8 May
Meanwhile, there is no sense of urgency from FENZ management as they continue to put the public at unnecessary risk with failing fleet breaking down on the way or at the emergency incident and with trucks offline or stations closed and 111 emergency dispatch centres affected due to insufficient staffing.
FENZ has now raised changes it wants to make to emergency response which does not augur well given they have cut career recruit courses, volunteer brigades are also being pushed back when wanting to train new recruits, and are now driving down the number of firefighters in Auckland claiming there was “no authority” for the additional firefighters recruited in Auckland to prevent the repeated failure to maintain minimum crewing and keep career stations open. Hamilton has also come under attack with FENZ now withdrawing the staffing of a Command Unit which also drops the staffing.
FENZ Management appear to be arrogant in their stance given recent criticism - and now there is a Parliamentary select committee inquiry into their management of fleet.
Instead of addressing these serious safe systems of work, and agree to a pay structure that would no longer have firefighters seriously underpaid and undervalued compared to other FENZ positions, FENZ is sitting on its hands with no bargaining in sight.
We have evidence of significant waste of expenditure without accountability.
Hundreds of millions has been wasted since FENZ was established in 2017 across a range of failed projects or procurements including unified uniform that was not rolled out, aborted payroll system, failed complaints systems and the incurring of huge legal costs along the way including an inquiry into FENZ failing to properly investigate and manage a complaint of serious allegations of abuse by a volunteer. Then there is the closure of the Lower Hutt fire station four years ago with no replacement station in sight resulting in delays in responses to the Lower Hutt city yet FENZ thought it prudent to build a new station to the tune of $1.6 million for a rural community of 87 people.
Last month the NZPFU released OIA information that showed FENZ had been burning through $70,000 - $99,000 a week in a media campaign against the NZPFU one-hour strikes. In comparison, The largest group of firefighters are Senior Firefighters (with qualifications and up to 9 years of experience) whose base wages are $80,682 gross p.a. for working 42 hours a week.
On 1 April the FENZ Board Members fees were boosted with up to 79% increases. Based on 50 days commitment, the Board Chair was awarded a pay rise from $1283 a day to $1831.20 a day. That is nearly $100 more than the wages for a 42-hour week for a Senior Firefighter with up to 10 years’ experience.
- The NZPFU members have not had a pay increase since 1 July 2023.
- The recruit and lowest firefighter ranks are paid $25.86 an hour and $27.71-$28.92 an hour. The minimum hourly wage is $23.95 and the living wage is $29.90.
- The largest group of firefighters are Senior Firefighters (with qualifications and up to 9 years of experience); base wages are $80,682 gross p.a. working 42 hours a week.
Compare that with the below salaries of senior management, or with the CE Kerry Gregory’s annual salary (as reported in September 2025) is $518,070. That equates to an average of nearly $10,000 a week.
The remuneration range steps for each DCE every year, since 30 June 2021 as reported in September 2024:
And for those that say you can’t compare senior management or Board wages with firefighters – the comparisons
with non-NZPFU non-management roles is just as damning.
This month FENZ advertised for a senior analyst position with a salary range of $114,663 - $127,404 (working from home 2 days a week) and an
Environment and Release Support Specialist with a salary range of $102,751 to $114,168 at the same time they advertised for 111 emergency
dispatcher trainees earning “$60,512.12 increasing to $72,614.54”.
A project manager in FENZ starts at $136,000 for 40 hours a week on appointment.
Compare that with the highest Officer rank of Senior Station Officer Executive Officer Qualified who earns up to $113, 608 for a 42 hour
week. They are likely to have had 15-45 years’ experience, have significant qualifications, and are required to make complex decisions
quickly that could impact the safety and lives of the firefighting crews and the public they respond to. They can be responsible for complex
and long duration events requiring a range of specialist appliances and can have dozens of firefighters under their command.
This is why we need a full inquiry into the mismanagement of FENZ – they have doubled their funding, more than doubled the number of
management and support staff yet career and volunteer firefighters have stagnated barely above 1990s levels.
Go to www.direemergency.nz/help to sign the petition for a
full and independent inquiry into FENZ!
In unity,
Wattie Watson
National Secretary
