Tauranga firefighters are participating in their second hour-long strike today, August 26 from 11am to 12pm.

The strikes are being issued to trigger a FENZ response to allow better conditions for firefighters, with core issues being ‘resources, understaffing and low wages'.

Today's strike from 11am-12 noon is the second in a two-week period.

On the Government response, Tauranga's Fire Fighters Union representative Mike Swanson believes Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti is 'referring issues back to Fire and Emergency New Zealand as an operational manager” but has seen 'nothing concrete”.

'Although she has injected herself onto the sidelines to facilitate a bit more mediation over the last few weeks, there's nothing concrete we have seen from a government perspective [that] she is doing to actually help us.”

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller says Tinetti needs to 'quit hiding and get around a table” to resolve the issues at FENZ.

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller. Photo: Taylor Rice/SunLive.

In a recent press statement Muller says Tinetti is 'nowhere to be seen or heard, despite being the Minister responsible for FENZ”.

'It has been like this for months, despite the organisation being at breaking point due to a lack of staff, poor resourcing and procurement, bullying, mismanagement, and wasteful spending,” says Muller.

'Firefighters don't want to close station doors but feel they have no other option. They are at their wit's end because Minister Tinetti and FENZ keep turning a blind eye to their concerns.

'It is concerning the Minister has nothing to say about a Crown agency that can't resolve its equipment or fire truck issues despite a capital spend of $468 million in the last five years and receiving $200 million more in revenue than expected after its merger.

'The truth is that Labour don't care about performance or financial waste because it's nearly all funded from insurance levies – it's an easy out for them.”

'The Minister has made it clear she wants nothing to do with the situation. She has previously denied there is anything wrong with FENZ and continues to claim it's not her job to get involved.

'The Minister is more than happy to be the face of FENZ when there's good publicity involved but will vanish when she's called to deal with the organisation's problems.

'What she needs to do is pull her board together and work out a solution to get FENZ heading in the right direction.”

Tinetti says she has 'asked FENZ to ensure they have contingency plans in place for the metropolitan areas which be affected by escalated strike action”.

Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti. Photo: SunLive.

'I know public safety will be their top priority,” says Tinetti.

'The Government has huge respect for the work firefighters and everybody else in FENZ does to keep the public and property safe. It is critically important we have an effective fire service.

'I am disappointed FENZ and the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union have been unable to reach a positive outcome in collective bargaining for the renewal of the collective employment agreement.

'I've heard from the firefighters that they have significant welfare concerns, these need to be addressed with urgency. I have been working with both FENZ and NZPFU to try and find a forward.

'It is my expectation FENZ will continue to work towards finding a solution with NZPFU – and I am hopeful a solution is possible.

'As FENZ is an independent crown entity most of their funding (97 per cent) comes from insurance levies. The offer FENZ has made to union members has now exhausted their available funding.

'Our ideal outcome is for FENZ to live up to their ideals,” says Mike.

'They [FENZ] have all the slogans, but they don't walk the talk. There's a lot of acronyms in this job and a lot of words, but not a lot of action.”

'It's really disappointing it has got to this stage. A lot of the local guys are feeling quite disillusioned, but it has been a long time coming, so now a lot of them are quite angry.

'I've heard FENZ thinks we're bluffing. If they're counting on the strike not happening then they're sadly mistaken and even worse managers than I believed