Striking career firefighters and other unionised members took to the streets in Tauranga, Rotorua and Kawerau today after bargaining negotiations with Fire and Emergency New Zealand stalled.
They were among about 2000 NZ Professional Firefighters Union members nationwide striking for an hour for better pay, more staff, and enhanced working conditions and resources, including new fire trucks.
Striking members included 111 fire emergency dispatchers, volunteer support officers, trainers, and those working in risk reduction and health and safety roles.
Members walking off the job included 70 in Tauranga and 50 in Rotorua.
Fire and Emergency warned of possible delays in responding to emergency calls during the strike.
In Tauranga, a group of about 80, mainly PFU members and family members, waved placards on a picket line at the intersection of Cameron Rd and Elizabeth St.
As the members left the Tauranga Fire Station, a bell rang and a striking firefighter wound up a handheld fire siren, which was also used on the picket line to draw attention.
Some striking members were accompanied by family members, including senior firefighters Greg Cato and Andrew Woodward, who were joined on the picket line by their daughters.
Drivers in numerous passing vehicles tooted their support, and members of the public crossing the road gave firefighters a thumbs up. Others said they “totally supported” the firefighters’ decision.
Tauranga PFU local secretary Mike Swanson said the mood on the picket line was “sombre” as the union members were reluctantly striking, to “bear witness to the failures of Fire and Emergency”.
“We don’t like doing this, but Fire and Emergency has forced our hands.”
Tauranga senior career firefighters Steve Opie and Hamish Dalziel said it was “stressful” and disappointing to be striking.
Opie said striking even for an hour was “not done lightly” and he hoped Fire and Emergency would soon come back with a better offer to end the need to strike again.
He said he was still on duty when a 111 call came in at 11.38am, prompting him and other crew members to respond to a fire alarm at a local rest home.
“Fortunately, there were no signs of fire. And at 11.55am, Greerton firefighters responded to a flooding incident in Gate Pā and would have been responding to this callout during the strike period.”
In Rotorua, 50 union members formed a picket line on the corner of Depot St and Old Taupō Rd.
Trainers and trainees based at the National Training Centre in Rotorua planned to congregate on State Highway 30 outside Wahanaga-A-Rangi Crescent, Ōwhata.
Rotorua PFU secretary Des Chan said members were striking because Fire and Emergency had yet to make a fair offer.
“They’ve had our offer since July ... At this stage, Fire and Emergency hasn’t come back to the bargaining table, and all we want is to be able to talk.”
Chan said the strike action was not just about pay.
“It’s about our health, it’s our mental health ... and it’s about our fleet because we know that we can’t do our job right.
“People complain about us taking an hour off ... But it’s just getting to a stage where we’ve got no other choices anymore.”
On October 7, Fire and Emergency applied for a facilitation hearing in the Employment Relations Authority. Both parties have been directed to attend mediation before October 28.
Fire and Emergency deputy national commander Megan Stiffler said the employer had bargained in “good faith” and was doing everything it could to reach an agreement without disrupting services.
Union president Joanne Watson said it opposed facilitation as Fire and Emergency had ample time to present a new offer.
The parties will mediate on the issues of Fire and Emergency’s application next week.
If the application is not withdrawn, it will be heard in the ERA on November 14.
On Thursday, the PFU issued a further notice to strike for an hour from noon on October 31.
Stiffler said there were 18 emergency calls during the nationwide strike, including three motor vehicle crashes.
Of these, 10 incidents were in areas impacted by the strike, but none were in the Bay of Plenty.
“Our volunteers responded as normal to incidents within their brigade areas,” Stiffler said.
She thanked New Zealanders for their extra care during the strike hour and the more than 11,000 volunteers and their employers for their support during today’s strike hour.
“I urge the NZPFU to withdraw this latest strike notice and not issue any more, so we can get back around the bargaining table while we wait for our application for facilitation to be considered.
“This is in the best interests of our people, and New Zealand’s communities.”
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.