Minister of Internal Affairs Jan Tinetti is welcoming the announcement from the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union that union members have voted to accept the settlement for a new collective employment agreement.
'The Government provided Fire and Emergency New Zealand with additional financial support so that a better offer could be put forward to firefighters. This was a turning point in the negotiations and ended over 18 months of talks and strike action,” says Tinetti.
"The $75.4 million we provided to Fire and Emergency New Zealand is a repayable capital injection loan. It meant they could provide an offer which was acceptable to firefighters, ensure the services that we all value could continue and that they got the increase to pay we know they deserve."
For Senior Professional firefighters this means that they will now be paid on average $82,699.89. This is an increase from what FENZ previously offered of $75,017.
A 10.24 per cent increase as direct result of the Government getting involved.
"Within the constraints of my role as Minister, I worked actively with the firefighters union and Fire and Emergency New Zealand to get to a successful resolution, including bringing the parties together to meet with me in the Beehive to assist in finding a way forward.
"It was a more active role than I had anticipated needing to play but it was necessary to ensure we could resolve the bargaining.
"What has become apparent is that when the National Government created the crown agency Fire and Emergency New Zealand in 2017 there were major shortcomings with the level of funding. The independent Colgan Report provides clarity on the extent of that underfunding.
"As a Government we are committed to ensuring those who serve the public are compensated fairly for what they do and are a valued part of the workforce. Firefighters put their bodies and lives on the line for New Zealanders every day.
"I have huge respect for the work that our firefighters do which is why I have taken action to ensure New Zealanders know that if they need the expertise of our firefighters they will be there. I thank our firefighters for the critically important work they do every day."
2 comments
Be happy........
Posted on 19-12-2022 21:33 | By groutby
....be very happy, many of us in the private sector work in an industry that genuinely cannot afford any increase at all...and are told so....all productive work can be seemed 'critical' at one point or another, ...so..., are you supporting your brothers in the volunteering sector who get bugger all except total satisfaction?...time for a bit of 'neck winding in' I reckon, knuckle down and be exceptional at what you do to earn respect from the paying public...
Great News
Posted on 19-12-2022 21:34 | By Yadick
These firefighters deserve all they get. A lot of people say they have a lot of down time. I say when they're firefighting they're earning every dollar. We lost EVERYTHING in a house fire in my late teenage years when we came to NZ. I know what it's like. With no insurance a number of firefighters helped us out of their own pockets. Look at all the Ambulance work they're doing now. It's time they took over Ambulance. Ambulance can't cope and a lot of them are unprofessional. Our firefighters go above and beyond. I am so proud of them, I'm indebted to them and I fully support them. They have earned and deserve our respect. I'm truly happy for them.
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