Firefighters' union asks government to step in as four 10-hour strikes are planned
The New Zealand Professional Fire Fighters Union (NZPFU) has called on the government to help settle its collective agreement negotiations with Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the agency that employs the country's firefighters. The call comes as the union plans four 10-hour strikes before the end of the year, according to RNZ.
Members voted 88 percent in favour of the four strikes, according to the same RNZ report. The New Zealand Herald reported that the plan followed members' rejection of a pay offer from Fire and Emergency.
The first 10-hour strike is due to start at 1pm on Friday 27 November. The union delivered formal notice of it to Fire and Emergency, the NZPFU said on Facebook. Until now, union members have been striking for one hour at a time. Since October 2025 the union has held 72 one-hour strikes, according to its own figures.
Those one-hour stoppages are currently held twice a week, Fire and Emergency said. The agency described the planned 10-hour strikes as a significant escalation from that pattern. A one-hour stoppage is also scheduled for Wednesday 11 November, from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, according to Fire and Emergency.
Fire and Emergency has warned that the longer strikes would create an "extreme risk to public safety" and could have fatal consequences. The agency's national commander, Megan Stiffler, leads the organisation.
The NZPFU's national secretary is Wattie Watson. The union is asking the government to step in to help end the dispute, and the RNZ report is the most recent account of that request.
