Overview of strike action and facilitation in New Zealand
Fire and Emergency New Zealand has reported further one-hour strikes by members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union, alongside an Employment Relations Authority decision to send the long-running pay dispute to facilitation and contingency plans aimed at maintaining emergency cover.
Across multiple updates, Fire and Emergency New Zealand has set out incident numbers during the latest strike hour, the role of volunteers and commanders in maintaining response, public safety advice and the details of its latest three-year pay offer for senior firefighters.
The organisation has also highlighted its wider investment in fleet, stations and training, and the constraints of an operating budget funded largely through insurance levies on New Zealand property and vehicles.
New Zealand incident volumes during strike hour
In a report dated Friday 5 December 2025, Fire and Emergency New Zealand said it received 26 incident calls between 12:00 and 13:00 during the latest one-hour strike by New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union members.
The organisation reported that 13 of these incidents occurred in areas affected by the industrial action.
Seven of the incidents in strike-affected areas involved fire alarms that did not result in an actual fire.
The remaining six incidents in those areas comprised one motor vehicle crash, two minor non-fire events and three medical emergencies.
An Assistant Commander attended the vehicle crash in Hillcrest, Auckland, supported by two volunteer crews from local brigades.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said Hato Hone St John responded to medical incidents in line with contingency arrangements agreed for the strike period.
The organisation said the two minor incidents, involving a trapped cat and a ring removal, were handled after the one-hour strike ended.
It reported that three Christchurch crews later assisted Hato Hone St John with a hazardous substances incident in Woolston once the strike window had closed.
Volunteer crews and contingency deployment
Fire and Emergency New Zealand stated that volunteer brigades continued to respond to incidents as normal within their areas during the strike hour.
Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler said the organisation was relying on its extensive volunteer base to maintain cover.
Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler said: “On International Volunteer Day thank you also to our more than 11,000 volunteers across the country, and their employers for supporting them to respond over today’s strike hour.”
She also thanked operational leadership for managing the contingency arrangements across New Zealand.
Stiffler added: “I would also like to thank our Operational Commanders and Communication Centre Managers, who contributed to the response.”
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said its communications centres and command staff implemented plans to prioritise emergency calls in areas where paid firefighters were on strike.
The organisation confirmed that volunteers were dispatched from their own stations in their usual appliances, as they would be during periods of multiple simultaneous incidents.
Bargaining position and operational investment
In the same report, Fire and Emergency New Zealand set out its current bargaining position with the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union on a new collective employment agreement for paid firefighters.
The organisation said its most recent offer represented a 6.2% increase over three years, which it said compared favourably with other public sector settlements.
According to the organisation, this offer would increase average senior firefighter remuneration from approximately $80,700–$87,400 to $85,800–$92,900 by the end of the term, excluding overtime and allowances that currently add an average of $38,800 a year.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand noted that average senior firefighter pay had increased by 37% over the past decade, which it said was more than 10% above the average total increase for all workers.
The organisation also referenced the previous 2022 collective agreement, which it said delivered cumulative wage rises of up to 24% over three years for paid firefighters.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand stated that it is investing in fleet replacement, with 317 new trucks delivered since 2017 and another 78 on order, supported by an annual truck replacement spend of more than $20 million.
It said there is an ongoing programme of station upgrades and training investment alongside the pay offer.
The organisation reported an operating budget of $857.9 million for the 2025/26 financial year, with 59% allocated directly to frontline operations and a further 32% to what it termed frontline enablers.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said that, in total, more than 90% of its operating budget is directed to frontline activity and staff who directly support response.
Referral to facilitation by Employment Relations Authority
In a separate report dated Thursday 4 December 2025, Fire and Emergency New Zealand welcomed an Employment Relations Authority decision to refer its bargaining with the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union to facilitation.
The organisation said the parties had been in negotiations for more than 16 months on a collective employment agreement for paid firefighters.
It described facilitation as the next step in progressing the dispute towards a settlement.
Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler said: “Attending independent facilitation with the Authority is the next logical step in coming to an agreement and we will participate in good faith with the NZPFU.”
She said Fire and Emergency New Zealand wanted the facilitation process to influence expectations on settlement terms.
Stiffler added: “We hope the facilitation process introduces some realism into the discussions.The NZPFU’s most recent settlement proposal was more than three times higher than our last offer, which we believe was fair, sustainable, and reasonable and in line with other settlements across the public service.”
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said the Authority had indicated it would hold a case management conference to set up facilitation arrangements.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand pay offer detail
In its facilitation-focused report, Fire and Emergency New Zealand repeated that its latest proposal amounted to a 6.2% average increase for firefighters over three years.
It said the offer would move average senior firefighter salaries from a range of about $81,000–$87,000 to about $86,000–$93,000 over the life of the agreement, excluding overtime and allowances that currently add almost $39,000 on average.
The organisation said it believed this represented a fair and sustainable increase for staff and remained consistent with other collective agreements across the public service.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand reiterated that, over the previous decade, average senior firefighter pay had risen by 37%, which it described as more than 10% above the average total rise for all workers.
It said it valued the commitment of career firefighters and stated it was seeking a settlement that maintained community safety while remaining financially manageable.
Levy funding and bargaining timeline
Fire and Emergency New Zealand noted that around 95% of its operations are funded through a levy on New Zealanders’ building, contents and vehicle insurance.
The organisation said it was conscious of the cost of living pressures that could result from large increases in levies if operating costs rose sharply.
It reported that the bargaining process with the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union had been running since July 2024.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand stated that it had approached talks in what it described as good faith, with an emphasis on reaching a settlement that aligns pay with available funding and supports reliable emergency cover.
The organisation said the facilitation process offers the best opportunity for progress on the collective agreement.
Stiffler added that Fire and Emergency New Zealand viewed facilitation as the appropriate forum for resolving differences between the parties’ respective proposals.
Strikes proceed despite facilitation decision
In a third report, dated Friday 5 December 2025, Fire and Emergency New Zealand said it was extremely disappointed that New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union members would carry out another one-hour strike between 12:00 and 13:00, even after facilitation had been granted by the Employment Relations Authority.
The organisation said the Authority’s decision to refer the dispute to facilitation had been issued the previous day.
Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler said Fire and Emergency New Zealand wanted all planned strikes cancelled while preparations for facilitation were under way.
Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler said: “NZPFU members will walk off the job again between 12-1pm today.”
Stiffler went on: “This comes after a decision by the Authority yesterday to refer both parties to facilitation to help make progress in ongoing negotiations.
“We ask the NZPFU to call off all planned future strikes while both parties are preparing for facilitation.
“There is no good reason for continuing to put the community at risk while we go through that process.”
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said it would continue to answer emergency calls and respond to incidents during the strike hour but warned that responses in affected areas would be slower.
The organisation said it would prioritise higher-risk incidents during the strike period and might not attend less serious calls in urban areas.
Public urged to take extra care
In its 5 December report, Fire and Emergency New Zealand advised people, particularly in cities and towns served by paid firefighters, to be especially careful with fire safety during the strike window.
The organisation urged businesses to review any work practices that could create ignition risks and to ensure tenants understood their evacuation schemes and procedures.
It encouraged members of the public to check smoke alarms and household escape plans ahead of the planned one-hour stoppage.
Stiffler added specific advice for anyone affected by a fire during the strike period.
Stiffler said: “We are advising everyone that, should there be a fire, they should evacuate early and, once out, stay out, and call 111.”
She said Fire and Emergency New Zealand would continue to respond to emergency calls but would need to focus resources on higher priority incidents while paid firefighters were off duty.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand stated that examples of lower priority incidents that might not receive a response during the strike hour included private fire alarms where there was no evidence of fire, small rubbish fires, traffic management assistance and animal rescues.
The organisation confirmed it had notified Hato Hone St John and Wellington Free Ambulance that volunteer crews would not be available for medical calls outside their own areas during the strike period.
Volunteers, service coverage and bargaining reference
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said that most communities across the country would not be directly affected by the one-hour strike because they are served primarily by volunteers.
The organisation reported that more than 11,800 volunteers operate from nearly 600 stations throughout New Zealand.
Stiffler used the 5 December report to acknowledge the contribution of volunteers and their supporters.
Stiffler said: “I want to reassure people that this strike action will not affect most of the country.”
She continued: “The vast majority of communities are served by our more than 11,800 volunteers in nearly 600 stations across New Zealand, who will respond as usual.
“I want to say a special thank you to all our volunteer personnel today, on International Volunteer Day.
“They are the backbone of Fire and Emergency, and we couldn’t serve New Zealand communities without them.
“I would also like to extend a thanks to our volunteers’ employers and whanau, who support them to respond.”
In the same report, Fire and Emergency New Zealand repeated its view that facilitation with the Employment Relations Authority is the appropriate mechanism for making progress in bargaining with the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union.
It reiterated its description of the 6.2% three-year offer and the 37% cumulative increase in average senior firefighter pay over the past decade, and restated its position that the latest proposal is fair, sustainable and consistent with other public service agreements.
Industrial action and public safety in New Zealand
Senior officers in fire and rescue organisations may use these reports to assess how short, pre-planned strike periods interact with call volumes, contingency plans and the balance between career and volunteer coverage across New Zealand.
Emergency and disaster response managers can draw on the incident data and prioritisation approach described by Fire and Emergency New Zealand when planning how to manage reduced capacity while maintaining response to higher-risk incidents.
Government departments and policy teams involved in funding, workforce regulation and industrial relations can reference the pay offer, historical wage increases and levy-funded budget context set out in the bargaining updates.
Training officers and incident commanders may review the way operational command, communications centres and volunteer brigades were deployed during the one-hour strike windows to inform exercises and internal guidance on similar events.
Facility managers and fire safety officers in cities and towns served by paid firefighters can apply the safety advice issued for strike periods, including reinforced evacuation procedures, smoke alarm checks and closer attention to work activities that could create ignition risks.