“Your fight is our fight!”

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.

Attached is a letter of solidarity from the FBU who have real experience of dishonest and underhanded management focused on driving down the level and capability of emergency response.

The FBU have been watching the events from afar and understand the dire emergency we are in now but also facing long term.

The NZPFU has called for an independent inquiry into the capability and capacity of FENZ, including an investigation into whether funding is being appropriately used for the protection of the community.

The NZPFU is very concerned that FENZ is seeking to significantly reduce career firefighter numbers, will close stations (starting with not replacing closed stations leaving communities like Lower Hutt city without a career station) and will be bringing in models to rely more heavily on volunteers (and therefore the grace of their employers) or bring in a retained firefighter system.

In 2024, FENZ secretly commissioned a “financial benchmarking” comparison between FENZ and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Read the NZPFU notice where we detailed our deep concerns about FENZ’s intentions for emergency response.  In September 2024, FENZ was denying the basis of our concerns, claiming it was in the process of developing a detailed implementation plan for the recruitment of the “agreed in principle” 235 additional firefighters that a joint working party had determined was necessary to maintain minimum staffing.  Since then, FENZ has refused to declare its position but is now driving down career firefighter numbers by cutting recruit courses and refusing to bring back firefighters who are still employed by trying to return from long term unpaid leave.

At about the same time, and after being questioned by a select committee about the Scottish model of only responding to confirmed fires (and therefore not responding to all fire alarms), CEO Kerry Gregory would not rule out similar changes here in New Zealand. 

Then FENZ’s restructure announced last November had  wide-ranging ramifications and implications for emergency response. Recently, the Employment Relations Authority ruled that FENZ had breached its legal obligations to consult with the NZPFU and PSA, and breached the obligations of good faith in the manner in which it tried to push through that restructure.  As a result, any attempt to force through those changes would be unlawful.

The NZPFU is concerned that FENZ has not learned from that experience as Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler has written to the union with the following:

“I am writing to advise that, on Tuesday, 7th April 2026, Fire and Emergency New Zealand will be coming out to you as part of consultation to seek your feedback on a proposed national Policy and Procedure for the management of station callouts. The aim of the proposed Policy and Procedure is:

• To ensure a consistent national approach to callouts
• To reduce the impact on off-duty career staff during their days off, ensuring staff have appropriate downtime between shifts/sets.
• Better adherence to the fatigue management policy.
• Organisational efficiencies and effectiveness are being met."

That is all corporate speak for attacking minimum staffing and safe systems of work by not calling back firefighters when needed to backfill a station to ensure a community still has the protection of the career crews while the on-duty crews are out responding to an emergency.  An example of the necessity to back-fill stations was in Whanganui last Friday night.  While on-duty crews with specialist capabilities were undertaking a line-rescue operation to reach two dogs trapped at the bottom of a ravine, off duty-firefighters who had already completed a shift returned to the station to keep Whanganui protected.  Those crews were called to two other emergencies during that callout time.  Megan Stiffler’s email indicates FENZ intends to stop that, which would mean no one would be on station to respond, resulting in significant delays in responding to the second and third emergency.

The longer it takes, the greater the fire, the less the potential to successfully rescue or contain a fire, and the greater risk of deaths and injury, as well as significant increased economic loss through avoidable damage.

The NZPFU has responded, informing FENZ they were not complying with the obligations to consult in accordance with the collective agreement.  Ms Stiffler has since rung and said the email could have been better worded and will send a new email through.  We will assess whether FENZ is capable of meeting the requirements of the consultation clause when we see the new communication.

This is why a fully independent inquiry is necessary into FENZ’s capability and capacity.  FENZ appear to be on a path to reduce capacity and capability and need to be stopped.

We have to fight for New Zealand’s fire service.

The NZPFU has welcomed and fully supports the Parliamentary Select Committee inquiry into FENZ’s fleet management and other issues.  Go to the Parliamentary website for more information.

The NZPFU is still calling for a full inquiry into the capacity and capability of FENZ. To support the NZPFU members please go to www.direemergency.nz/help to sign the petition for a broader public inquiry.

In unity,
Wattie Watson
National Secretary