ERA orders facilitated bargaining between FENZ and firefighters’ union as strike action looms

The Employment Relations Authority has ordered Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) and the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) into facilitated bargaining, citing protracted negotiations that have stretched on for more than 16 months.

The determination, issued today, means a different Authority member will now oversee arrangements for facilitation. A case management conference will be scheduled, although the timing and process are yet to be confirmed.

The NZPFU says it is taking legal advice on the decision. It argues FENZ has refused to meet or agree to bargaining dates in recent weeks while awaiting the ERA’s ruling, despite the process not preventing the two sides from continuing negotiations.

In a statement, the union said the last bargaining meeting was held on November 18 and that “FENZ has refused to meet, or agree to dates, since”. It said the Authority’s decision has now created an inevitable pause in progress.

“We could have been bargaining last week, this week, next week  but FENZ chose not to,” the NZPFU said. It has urged FENZ to agree to new bargaining dates in the interim.

NZPFU members are due to strike for one hour tomorrow, Friday December 5 at 12 noon, with further strike notices issued for 12 and 19 December 2025.

The union says the strikes “could have, and could be, averted if FENZ came back to discussions and made progress in trying to resolve the issues”.

FENZ urges union to call off strikes

FENZ says it welcomes the ERA’s decision and sees facilitation as the “next logical step” in resolving the dispute.

“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,” Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler says.

“We ask the NZPFU to call off its strike tomorrow and all planned future strikes while both parties are preparing for facilitation, which represents the best opportunity to settle bargaining. There is no good reason for continuing to put the community at risk while we go through that process.”

Stiffler says the union’s most recent settlement proposal was more than three times higher than FENZ’s last offer, which she describes as “fair, sustainable, and reasonable and in line with other settlements across the public service”.

FENZ says its proposal amounts to an average 6.2 percent increase over three years, lifting senior firefighter salaries from approximately $81,000–$87,000 to $86,000–$93,000 by the end of the agreement, excluding overtime and allowances. Stiffler says overtime and allowances currently add an average of almost $39,000 to annual pay.

“Fire and Emergency values the incredible dedication of our people, which is why over the past decade average senior firefighter pay has cumulatively increased by 37 percent, or more than 10 percent above the average total increase for all workers,” she says.

FENZ also notes that around 95 percent of its funding comes from insurance levies and warns of cost-of-living impacts if levies were required to rise significantly.

The Authority has indicated it will convene a case management conference to begin preparations for facilitated bargaining.