Firefighters set to strike over pay demands
Victorian firefighters are preparing to strike as a deal for a huge pay rise stalls. Here’s what the planned industrial action means.
Victoria
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Victoria’s firefighting union is set to go on strike over their request for a whopping 8.6 per cent annual payrise as negotiations stall just weeks out from the state election.
United Firefighters Union members have been asked to vote over industrial action as they hammer out a new workplace agreement.
They had already endorsed an earlier plan to strike but the document had expired, prompting a second ballot.
The vote is expected to pass easily, with the ongoing dispute a potential headache for the Andrews Government if it spills into the election campaign.
UFU boss Peter Marshall is already organising a campaign against Labor in key marginal seats in a shock turnaround from the 2014 election when firefighters threw their support behind Daniel Andrews.
Work stoppages are on the agenda but will not apply when responding to fires, accidents and emergencies.
Instead firefighters could ban themselves from working with suppliers, redirect emails or use normal hours to take their campaign to the public.
The union is also considering refusing to collect governments fees, such as for false alarms, in a hit to the state’s revenue.
There are still about four issues in dispute with Fire Rescue Victoria, including payrises of 8.6 per cent, health insurance guidelines and the creation of a new division known as fire safety officers.
The government’s current wage policy is capped at 1.5 per cent.
This figure is under review but is not likely to be expanded as high as the UFU’s demands.
A contentious plan for a firefighters registration board, which would provide new union-backed accreditations, is also unresolved.
Both sides support the idea but there is still disagreement on how it would operate.
The union had also pushed for free public transport for firefighters but this is demand is not expected to be pursued.
Mr Marshall said public safety would not be put at risk during the process.
“At this stage of negotiations, where there’s been no fair progression on unresolved matters, we are commencing industrial action,” he said.
“We are looking at bans on activities with the government, including collecting revenue.”
Mr Marshall backed his pay push, which would increase wages by 25 per cent from 2022 to 2025, and called on the state to resolve the dispute.
“If the premier and the prime minister and the federal treasurer are genuine in their comments about wage stagnation and rising cost of living, they should resolve this pay claim,” he said.
Wage negotiations with the UFU have created lengthy headaches for the Andrews Government in the past.
Former emergency services minister, the late Jane Garrett, resigned from Cabinet in 2016 when she refused to endorse a pay deal with the CFA that was backed by the premier.
The state’s anti-corruption watchdog has also been probing the government’s dealings with the union while negotiating these agreements.
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