Sexism review: United Firefighters Union in Supreme Court bid to block human rights commission
THE firefighters’ union has launched a court bid to stop a review into bullying and sexism after female firefighters alleged they were forced to strip naked and pose in group photographs.
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THE United Firefighters Union has launched an extraordinary court bid to stop a review of bullying and sexism in the fire services.
The independent Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission review was established after a Fire Services Review by the Andrews Government raised concerns about the culture in the MFB and CFA.
The United Firefighters Union has taken its fight to the Victorian Supreme Court, arguing the VEOHRC has no legal power to conduct the review.
The union also wants the court to ban any publication of reports related to the review.
Lawyers for the UFU and VEOHRC rushed to court for an urgent hearing.
But the hearing was adjourned indefinitely amid suggestions the parties are in talks about how to settle the dispute.
Paperwork filed with the court reveals the UFU wants the court to issue a declaration that the review being conducted into the MFB and CFA is beyond the VEOHRC’s powers.
It also wants an order: “permanently restraining the defendant (VEOHRC), its officers, employees, servants and agents from continuing to conduct the review”.
One senior source said the union’s behaviour was “mad”, while another pointed to the stark contrast between the UFU and the Police Association — which embraced a VEOHRC review as a catalyst for change — when it came to dealing with cultural problems.
In a writ filed with the court the UFU says a report by University of Melbourne statistics professor Ian Gordon on the methodology of the commission’s survey had disclosed a number of serious flaws.
“The most serious of these flaws is that, although the survey is intended for past and present employees and volunteers of the MFB and CFA, it is open to be answered by anyone,” the writ alleges.
“Furthermore the same person can complete the survey multiple times.”
As a result of the flaws Prof Gordon had rendered the survey unreliable.
In an affidavit filed with the UFU’s Jeremy Murphy said solicitors for the union wrote to the VEOHRC on June 10 seeking an undertaking it not publish any report before considering the concerns.
The Herald Sun revealed earlier this year that some of the people interviewed by the VEOHRC have told of porn hanging in kitchen cupboards at fire stations, sex in offices, and recruitment panels biased against hiring women.
There have also been complaints made about the behaviour of UFU secretary Peter Marshall, with Worksafe launching a formal investigation into claims he bullied former MFB chief officer Peter Rau.
The UFU has already criticised the VEOHRC process and discouraged members from participating, saying it was not in their interests to do so.
It has also hired a Newcastle University professor to undertake a separate review — recently described as a “stitch-up” by the state opposition.
The suppression bid comes after the UFU recently went to the Fair Work Commission to try to stop the MFB and CFA from co-operating with the VEOHRC review.
Emergency Services Minister James Merlino said the VEOHRC review was “requested by our government and we expect it to be completed and provided us”.
“We have encouraged all firefighters, career and volunteer, to participate in the review and we look forward to receiving it,” Mr Merlino said.
“Multiple reports have been clear that there are serious cultural issues within our fire services including a poor relationship between management and workers and a lack of diversity in the ranks — this needs to be addressed.”
“Creating real cultural change isn’t easy but we want our fire services to reflect our diverse modern community — that’s why we’ve set ambitious targets to increase diversity and are backing this up with the investment needed.”
