Firefighters’ union tipped to get bulk of demands if Victorian Premier ­Daniel Andrews caves in

UPDATE: THE Premier’s extraordinary intervention in the CFA pay dispute — personally meeting the firefighters union chief — is dangerous territory, Opposition warns.

The Parliament House steps will be covered in red fire helmets as firefighters protest the continued failure of the Napthine Government to provide the 342 extra CFA firefighters promised after Black Saturday. Opposition leader Daniel Andrews addresses the crowd on the steps of Parliament.

• James Campbell: Fire chiefs fear good sense extinguished

PREMIER Daniel Andrews met personally with United Firefighters Union secretary Peter Marshall last week amid a bitter CFA pay dispute.

The premier revealed his extraordinary intervention while defending his handling of EBA talks — which Mr Andrews says are ongoing in “good faith negotiations”.

The Herald Sun revealed today that Cabinet has split over a decision to capitulate to United Firefighters Union boss Peter Marshall’s demands and settle the saga.

It can be revealed chairs and chief executives of the state’s fire services wrote to the State Government in recent days warning against handing a veto power over CFA management decisions to the union.

In the process, Mr Andrews has sidelined his Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett.

Mr Andrews’ intervention to settle the bitter three-year pay and conditions war could see the union being given almost everything it has asked for.

But CFA management has made it clear that they will not sign up to the UFU’s demands and Ms Garrett, who is the only person who can order them to agree, is refusing to do so, sources told the Herald Sun.

Opposition spokesman Michael O’Brien said Mr Andrews was in dangerous territory.

“It’s extraordinary that Daniel Andrews and his cabinet are so divided that the Premier is undermining the Emergency Services Minister by having secret meetings with the union bosses behind the back of the responsible minister.

“When even a left-wing minister like Jane Garrett says ‘Sorry, Premier, you’ve gone too far – this is a bad deal for Victorians’, we know that something is rotten in this state.

“We can’t afford to give away control of our fire services ... Yet Daniel Andrews is prepared to play politics with our fire services for cheap political points and he’ll undermine the public interest and his own ministers in order to do that.’’

Mr O’Brien said he did not know the costs but feared the Government would increase the Fire Services Levy to pay for the deal.

He said the Andrews government had already jacked up the levy by 7.1 per cent last year – more than three times the rate of inflation.

“We’ll have to see how much more Daniel Andrews wants to raise the Fire Services Levy this year.”

The premier today said he still had faith in Ms Garrett and described her as “an outstanding minister”.

“This is all sparked by the fact that I had a meeting with the secretary of the union last week,” Mr Andrews said.

“I meet with many different people every day of the week.

“I’m not going to go through the purpose of every meeting I have, but I would say to you it was to have good faith negotiations and discussions and to catch up on what has been a protracted and long-running dispute.”

Mr Andrews said bureaucrats now lead the process of striking a deal with the UFU.

“Industrial Relations Victoria lead these processes, the fire services are involved obviously, the minister’s office is involved and the minister herself,” he said.

Mr Andrews backed consultative committees for the CFA, meaning management wouldn’t be able to make decisions without consulting with the UFU first.

He disputed the term “veto power” in relation to the concept, which fire services chiefs have criticised.

“Some might see consultation, actually listening to your workforce — listening and understanding from people who are actually out there fighting fires — some might see that as a veto but I don’t see it that way,” Mr Andrews said.

“Our firefighters are about keeping our community safe.”

When asked what the view of fire services chiefs about consultative committees, Mr Andrews said: “I’m not a spokesperson for fire service chiefs, I wouldn’t presume to speak for them,” he said.

Mr Andrews said “I wouldn’t draw that conclusion” when asked whether federal MPs had contacted his office to urge a speedy resolution.

The windfall clauses include:

A 19 PER CENT pay rise with a $3000 signing-on bonus;

SEVEN paid firefighters to attend every CFA-area fire ground, no matter how small;

A CONSULTATIVE committee that will allow the union to veto management decisions;

A 15 PER CENT daily loading for all firefighters who have to work alongside contractors.

A senior fire services source said the proposed terms of surrender would lead to the union getting the vast majority of its claim, published by the Herald Sun last year.

One senior source said the plan would also “marginalise volunteers”.

Several sources have confirmed that the CFA board and chief executive Lucinda Nolan are refusing to sign up to the terms backed by the Premier’s office.

Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett.

Fire services sources say Ms Garrett is supporting their position.

A Cabinet subcommittee was due to discuss the matter late today.

Sources said some ministers were violently opposed to some of the proposed terms of the agreement, which Mr Andrews and special minister of state Gavin Jennings want ticked off.

A senior fire services source said work was being done to establish the full cost of the EBA and any associated impact on the fire services levy.

A Labor source said other public sector unions would be watching the deal closely.

“The cost implications are enormous, not to mention the fact that this is not the way to deal with these issues,” the source said.

Meanwhile, CFA volunteer boss Andrew Ford spoke out against the deal this morning.

“We can hardly believe the stupidity of what’s being talked about. It is one thing for a union to negotiate for its members, it’s one thing to negotiate pay conditions, we have no quarrel with that.

“But to seek to control decision making, to seek to be able to override the chief decisions about what and how to use resources, to seek to marginalise volunteers. That sort of thing is immoral and an abuse of power,” he told the ABC.

When asked about the allegation Mr Andrews was rushing the deal through in time for the federal election, Mr Ford said he was shocked.

“To hand over a public institutions decision making just for personal political power just seems so wrong.”

He warned he would be chastised for speaking publicly on the issue but said the union’s request to have seven fire fighters on the fireground would “destroy the CFA”.

- with Alex White

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