Whanganui firefighters join colleagues around the country in strike action

New Zealand Professional Firefighters' Union representatives Geoff Moore (far right) and Greg Lee (second from right) with fellow Whanganui union members. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters' Union have joined national strike action this week to address pay, working conditions and understaffing.

Fire trucks, some of which are more than 30 years old, at the Whanganui station have been decked out with chalked messages to bring attention to the issues.

Whanganui firefighter and union central branch president Greg Lee said while wages were always a part of industrial action it was "much more than that".

"It's things like staffing levels, health insurance, which they [Fire and Emergency New Zealand] refuse to give us, and acknowledgement of high cancer rates for firefighters.

"This is a much wider picture."

Fellow firefighter Geoff Moore, who is also the local union secretary, said staff were working far above the usual 42 hours a week schedule.

It wasn't unusual for firefighters to work 80 to 100 hours a week.

"We've been very lucky to never run short here in Whanganui," Moore said.

"That's purely because of the troops here breaking their backs to maintain the manning.

"Provincial brigades like us rely on constantly calling off duty staff back. You go home and then you're called straight back again."

Firefighters dealt with a lot of psychological trauma, another issue Fire and Emergency wasn't addressing correctly, Lee said.

A Whanganui appliance with chalked messages attending a job on Friday morning. Photo / Bevan Conley

"We now go to all what ambulance call purple [immediately life-threatening] calls, with cardiac and respiratory arrest.

"That's heart attacks, suicides, shooting, stabbings. We only see the worst of the worst.

"We are fighting for that psychological support that FENZ just aren't providing. They don't even want to acknowledge it."

In May, the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union announced its members had voted to reject Fire and Emergency's offer to settle the collective agreement.

All staff in the Whanganui brigade are union members.

"The people coming to look after you aren't the ones getting looked after," Moore said.

"As far as the union is concerned, FENZ doesn't seem to care about us or the public. They've lost their way completely."

Because of low wages it was hard to attract new recruits and the latest offer was "well below inflation", Lee said.

Pay amongst lower ranks was around minimum wage.

"It's coming on two years since we've had a pay rise, and we've been in negotiations for over a year.

"That's why it's all just come to a halt."

Fire and Emergency Manawatū-Whanganui group manager Aaron Summerhays said he wanted to assure the local community there would be no reduction in the response and capability of the local station as a result of the industrial action.

Moore said the strike action involved "a lot of behind the scenes stuff", and the public wouldn't be affected.