Calendar pin-up fireman beats funeral bullying claims in six-year tribunal battle

A senior Queensland fireman who claimed he was humiliated, excluded and a victim of “malicious criticism” by his alleged “bully” co-worker, has lost a long-running tribunal battle.

Firefighter Ian Shuker who is featured in the firefighters calendar.

A senior Queensland fireman who claimed he was humiliated, excluded and a victim of “malicious criticism” by his alleged “bully”, a calendar pin-up colleague, has lost a long-running tribunal battle.

Station officer Garry Ross Davey’s six year bid to prove colleague Ian Shuker bullied him was triggered in 2018 when workplace tensions escalated into complaints about bizarre and minor incidents which then “spilt over into local union activities”, a tribunal has heard.

The pair made multiple accusations of inappropriate behaviour against each other in relation to incidents between 2013 and 2023.

Davey told the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission that one of his complaints against Shuker was he wanted to give the eulogy at a colleague’s funeral but that Shuker excluded him.

He also complained that he was unfairly accused of having a conflict of interest when catering company named “Yogolicious” supplied food for a Queensland Fire and Emergency Services training course where Davey was the training officer.

Queensland Fire Brigade Rockhampton Station Officer Garry Davey

Davey’s girlfriend was alleged to have worked at “Yogolicious”, the tribunal heard.

Davey submitted that the “Yogolicious” inquiry was an example of workplace bullying and “malicious rumours” because the allegation was “proved to be baseless”.

Details of the Davey’s allegations that Shuker had falsely accused him of inappropriate conduct and that previous internal QFES investigations were not competent and thorough were revealed on July 1, in a Queensland Industrial Relations Commission decision handed down by Commissioner Roslyn McLennan.

“I appreciate Officer Davey wants a new investigation into his many complaints against Officer Shuker, with witnesses interviewed afresh. That will not happen,” she wrote.

Ms McLennan stated she could not grant Davey an order to forcing Shuker to stop bullying him.

“The threshold to be met for bullying under the Industrial Relations Act shows that has not been fulfilled in the circumstances” Ms McLennan wrote.

Davey claimed Shuker told a colleague in 2022 that “he had enough on (Davey) to get (him) sacked”, a claim Shuker denied.

Davey also claimed Shuker tried to have him disciplined on ten occasions, though all have been “proved baseless.”

He claimed Shuker “excluded” him from “speaking at” the 2021 funeral of former Rockhamption firey Blair Grice, “specifically from saying a eulogy”.

Davey claimed that Shuker “attached himself to the” Grice family and “took over organising things for the funeral”.

Firefighter Ian Shuker was accused of excluding Station officer Garry Ross Davey from giving a eulogy at a colleague's funeral.

Davey believed Shuker “took over speaking at the funeral so Davey couldn’t do it”, the decision states.

Shuker denied the claims and told internal QFES investigators that he was friends with Blair Grice before joining the fire service and he knew the family and that then-QFES Assistant Commissioner Darryl King, now retired, asked him to manage QFES’ part in the funeral arrangements on QFES’ behalf.

Ms McLennan noted that emails between Davey and Shuker confirmed Davey “wanted only to do the eulogy” and Davey rejected other opportunities to have a role in the funeral that were offered to him.

Ms McLennan concluded that it was not appropriate for the QFES internal reviews to further examine the incident.

“Launching full scale inquiries into how it was decided who would give the eulogy at a funeral that took place more than a year ago at the time of (QFES executive Ronda) Rutherford’s outcome advice would have been inappropriate, disproportionate and bluntly upsetting to the family if it were to have reached their ears,” Ms McLennan wrote.

Shuker was on the cover of the Queensland Firefighters Calendar in 2011, and featured in four other firefighting calendars which raise money for sick children.

Davey also argued Shuker “deliberately excluded” Davey from staff roster planning and by not including him in a group email when he sent out the roster.

Davey also claimed that emails Shuker sent to their QFES colleagues in 2019 about union matters were meant to “publicly humiliate me!” and that Shuker had caused him “public humiliation at union meetings.”

The pair were both station officer’s in Rockhampton and Davey later transferred to Longreach, the decision states.

The decision states that Davey’s complaints about Shuker’s alleged bullying were investigated internally in the QFES three times and he was unhappy with the outcome so appealed to the QIRC in a bid to overturn the investigation findings.

All complaints made against Davey had been resolved “in his favour” with all allegations against him now “not substantiated”, Ms McLennan wrote.

“All formal, or informal, actions against Officer Davey have also been removed as a result,” she wrote.

She found that a review of Davey’s case last year by Chief Superintendent Kevin Reading’s was fair on nine issues and unfair on one issue.

She also found that Ms Rutherford was unfair in 2022 when she failed to tell Davey he had a right to an internal review.