After 18 months of fruitless negotiations for a new contract, New Zealand firefighters organized a one-hour strike Friday to try to focus attention on problems within the fire service.
The firefighter’s concerns focus on:
- A lack of protective equipment
- Broken apparatus
- Inadequate staffing forcing excessive overtime
- Failure to address cancer risks
- Failure to address on-the-job trauma
The strike drew a lot of attention within the country. The firefighters union say it will not be the last job action of the government does not pay serious attention to the safety and health issues being presented.
