“Our offer at the time amounted to a 6.2% average increase over three years and compared favourably with equivalent recent public sector agreements, but this was three times less than the NZPFU’s settlement proposal.”
Stiffler said Fire and Emergency’s pre-facilitation offer would have taken average senior firefighter salaries from a range of $81,000-$87,000 to $86,000-$93,000 at the end of the period, excluding overtime and allowances, which currently add an average of almost $39,000 to annual remuneration.
On January 9, an East Auckland family bakery caught fire just minutes into a strike. It took 30 minutes for the nearest volunteer crews to arrive at the scene, in which time flames had engulfed the building.
Stiffler told the Herald that Fire and Emergency had received 23 111 calls related to the blaze.
Fire and Emergency said it will continue to answer 111 calls and respond to fires in affected areas during this hour, but response to emergencies will take longer in larger towns and cities.
It said 11,000 volunteer firefighters are available to respond from the almost 600 stations across the country.
“We continue to call on the NZPFU to call off its now twice-weekly strikes while the process of facilitation takes place. We remain committed to a fair, sustainable, and reasonable settlement so we can continue working to keep our communities safe,” Stiffler said.