The public is being warned of “serious delays” to emergency services as 2000 firefighters walk off the job at midday today, calling for urgent investment increases.

Firefighters will strike for an hour following stalled negotiations between Fire and Emergency NZ and the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union [NZPFU].

NZPFU national secretary Wattie Watson said the action was the last resort for members.

“It is very easy for the FENZ management to criticise the lawful strike, but FENZ rolls the dice on emergency response to the public every day, every hour, with failing fire appliances and failing to maintain minimum staffing.”

Fire and Emergency deputy national commander Megan Stiffler said the organisation is disappointed the union has decided to strike.

“We’re disappointed that the NZPFU has rejected our offer of a 5.1% pay increase over the next three years, as well as increases to some allowances, and that they have elected to withdraw their labour, compromising public safety,” Stiffler said.

Professional firefighter Terry Bird and NZPFU vice president Martin Campbell said the public should be cautious today because there will be “serious delays” across Fire and Emergency between midday and 1pm.

NZPFU vice president Martin Campbell told Herald NOW there were broken promises and failures across the entire organisation.

“Fire and Emergency is in a real dire state. We’ve got fire trucks breaking down on a daily basis right across the country now.”

Those striking include firefighters, 111 fire emergency dispatchers, volunteer support officers, trainers, staff working in community resilience and risk reduction, and those working in health, safety and wellbeing.

The pay rise offer of 5.1% over the next three years, didn’t tell the full story, according to unionists.

“It’s actually going to be over five years because firefighters actually haven’t had a pay rise since July 2023. So by the time that contract would have expired, it would have been less than 1% a year, not even keeping up with the cost of living,” Campbell said.

The union said ongoing conditions and funding gaps were putting lives at risk.

“The big heavy aerials, the big ladder trucks, breaking down all the time. We’ve got equipment that is breaking down. We’ve had promises from the last negotiations for an extra 235 firefighters still haven’t been fulfilled by the organisation,” Campbell said.

Professional firefighter Terry Bird noted a long history of poor pay rises.

Hastings' 33-year-old fire truck has had the words "Undervalued" and "Mismanaged" as part of their New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union actions. Photo / Michaela Gower

“The reason for that is that there is no competition. Firefighters love their job. There is nowhere else they can go to work and we accept the offers that have been made to us historically.

“There comes a time when you go, ‘enough is enough’. We can’t afford to not improve our conditions and not improve our pay,” Bird said.

The firefighters’ strike comes as nurses, midwives, other healthcare workers and teachers are planning to join a mega strike on October 23.

NZ Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Richard Wagstaff said that strike was shaping up to be New Zealand’s largest one in decades.

Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.