NZPFU Whanganui secretary says firefighter strikes affecting businesses as action continue

Firefighters walked off the job again between 11am and noon on Friday. Photo / Bevan Conley

As New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union members continued strike action this week, the Whanganui union secretary said local businesses were also being affected by the strike actions.

For the second week in a row, Whanganui career firefighters went on strike for an hour between 11am and noon on Friday, marching from the Whanganui Fire Station in Maria Pl, this time stopping at the Taupō Quay/Victoria Ave intersection.

Negotiations over pay and conditions between the union (NZPFU) and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) have broken down.

NZPFU Whanganui secretary Geoff Moore said he had been told the strikes had been affecting the operations of more than just fire services.

"We found out around the country that lots of high-risk businesses and companies are actually stopping high-risk activities for the hour we are on strike," Moore said.

He said businesses had been stopping operations like chemical transportation and hot mix spraying during the strike hours due to the added risk of a delayed response from fire crews in areas primarily covered by NZPFU stations.

"These companies pay their fire service levies and aren't getting their appropriate cover thanks to Fenz's attitudes."

Fenz said during the strike hour this week it was alerted to seven incidents - all alarm activations - in the main urban areas covered by primarily NZPFU crews.

There were 10 calls in total across the country, with two medical calls and a minor structure fire in volunteer areas. None were in the Whanganui region.

"It is fortunate no serious fires or other emergencies that we would normally respond to occurred during this full strike by NZPFU members,' National Commander Russell Wood said.

"I'd like to thank Kiwis for their vigilance during the strike hour.

"I again urge the NZPFU to withdraw its current strike plans which are putting people at risk and participate constructively in the facilitated bargaining process.

"Mediation has reached an impasse. Despite over a year of negotiations including mediation we are still a significant distance apart.

"We believe the fastest and most effective way to reach a practical and fair resolution is with the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) facilitation process.

"It is the right thing to do for our people and our communities so that we can bring the bargaining to a resolution."

Moore said there had been no progress made between Fenz and NZPFU in their negotiations in the week between strikes.

He said NZPFU had been willing to continue negotiations as it waited for facilitation from the ERA but described Fenz's attitude as "devastating.".

"They're pushing down their facilitated bargaining agenda, but, in the meantime, there's plenty of time we could be sitting at the table trying to fix this and they'd prefer to waste these times and force us out on strike."

Moore said NZPFU had given notice of further strikes continuing at the same time over the next two weeks, and if negotiations had not progressed during that time, the union may be forced to escalate further.

He said he hoped Fenz would return to the table with NZPFU to resume negotiations before that was necessary.