Cheat Sheet: What you need to know about the firefighters' strike
Thursday, 18 August 2022
On Friday, Fire and Emergency New Zealand personnel across the country are set to escalate their strike action and step away from work altogether.
So what do you need to know?
When is the strike?
The strike is happening on Friday morning and is set to run for one hour, from 11am until noon. A second hour-long strike is scheduled to take place a week later on Friday, August 26.
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Who is striking?
It’s expected that all Fire and Emergency personnel who are members of the NZ Professional Firefighters Union will be taking part in the strike.
This includes all career firefighters across the country and personnel at the 111 Emergency Dispatch Centre.
How many people are striking?
It’s estimated nearly 2000 union members will strike across Aotearoa. This will see major areas left with only a handful of firefighters on duty for the hour-long strike.
For example, in Auckland there are about 500 career firefighters who will be striking. This will leave an estimated six career firefighters on duty across the supercity.
What format will the strike take?
The union has issued a stop work notice for the whole hour, which means no union members will be taking calls or responding to call-outs.
It said on Thursday the bad weather that had been causing slips, flooding and road closures around the country would not stop the strike.
At 11am, all union members will leave their fire stations and travel to major traffic intersections nearby. They plan to stay there for the whole hour and hold signs that support their messaging.
Why are union members striking?
A few reasons, but most notably:
Increased staffing levels – both to reduce pressure on firefighters on duty and to reduce wait times for fire crews to attend blazes
Increased mental health support for Fenz personnel
Safer work procedures and improved equipment.
Has a strike like this ever happened before?
No. Although union members undertook a partial strike in June, which saw union members refusing to do certain administration duties, they have called Friday’s action “an unprecedented step” that reflects the gravity of their concerns.
The strike comes after more than a year of negotiations between Fire and Emergency and the union.
What happens if I need to call Fire and Emergency during this time?
In short, we don’t know.
Deputy national commander Brendan Nally said Fire and Emergency has contingency plans in place that will enable it to continue responding to emergencies, but have warned that with significantly fewer firefighters and 111 communication centre dispatchers than usual, responses will be delayed.
“I want to reassure people this strike action will not affect most of the country which is served by our volunteer crews who will respond as normal,” Nally said in a statement.
“However, we do ask the public in urban areas, primarily served by career firefighters, to remain extra vigilant during this strike hour.”
Fire and Emergency also said earlier this week the strike will mean firefighters can’t respond to medical emergencies as they usually would nor less serious incidents, such as private fire alarms where there is no evidence of a fire.
Nally said it is very disappointing the union is going ahead with the strike despite the chance to call it off and offers of “facilitated bargaining”.
The union, however, says Fire and Emergency has no back-up plan if something major happens during the strike.
It has not accepted offers of “facilitated bargaining” and has called Fire and Emergency’s current offers “insulting”.
Auckland union secretary Martin Campbell said the few non-union members rostered on during the strike would need to be trained on how to use specialist equipment, such as aerial, rescue and command unit appliances.
“Some of the jobs we get called out to are really complex.
“If you’ve got people rostered on who don’t operate those machines on a daily basis, they are really going to struggle,” Campbell said.