Fair Work Commission approves new Metropolitan Fire Brigade workplace agreement, but looming expiry

After more than three years of industrial wrangling, a new workplace agreement for Melbourne’s firefighters has finally been approved. But the celebrations will be short-lived, with an unfortunate snag around the corner.

A new workplace agreement for Melbourne’s firefighters has finally been approved after more than three years of industrial wrangling.

The deal was ticked off by the Fair Work Commission on Monday after the United Firefighters Union backed down on several conditions which restricted firefighters from working part-time.

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But the Metropolitan Fire Brigade will be forced back to the bargaining table soon because the agreement — which was due to kick in back in 2016 — expires on July 1 this year.

The Herald Sun understands the agreement will be used as a template for Fire Rescue Victoria, the new agency which the Andrews Government is planning to create when it looks to reintroduce laws to restructure the state’s fire services later this year.

The federal government and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission had challenged the MFB agreement at Fair Work, arguing the part-time work restrictions meant it discriminated against women and carers.

Fair Work Commission deputy president Val ­Gostencnik suggested he was hamstrung by a Federal Court decision on the meaning of discrimination, and said he would have ­declared parts of the deal to be discriminatory “were I free to conclude otherwise”.

A new MFB workplace agreement has been approved by Fair Work. Picture: Steve Tanner

Instead, he sought a legal undertaking from the MFB to protect the rights of employees to work part-time, which was filed earlier this month.

The undertaking scraps the requirement for employees to give statutory declarations to the UFU detailing their reasons for wanting to work part-time — a clause Mr Gostencnik had said was “frankly abhorrent”.

The union’s opposition to part-time work had been a key battleground in the industrial fight, which has seen a string of fire services leaders lose their jobs.

Federal Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer is seeking a review of the case by the full bench of the Fair Work Commission over the concerns raised by Mr Gostencnik about current discrimination laws.

UFU boss Peter Marshall congratulated his members for their “unity, commitment and solidarity” during “what has clearly been a protracted dispute”.

“Once again, through our unity, we have been able to build upon our conditions of employment via a new Enterprise Agreement,” he said in a bulletin yesterday.

In an email to staff, MFB chief Dan Stephens said he was pleased the deal had now been finalised.

“MFB will continue its work towards implementation, and I would like to thank all those involved for their hard work and commitment to achieving this outcome,” he said.

Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said: “Our firefighters put their lives on the line to keep Victorians safe, so it’s important their pay and conditions are commensurate with the vital service they provide.”

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