NT firefighters to get formal pay offer in major EBA breakthrough

Territory firefighters are set to get a formal pay offer, marking a ‘significant’ breakthrough after almost three years of hostile negotiations.

Fireys are expected to get a formal pay offer this week, marking a major step towards the end of more than 1000 days of tense negotiations. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Territory firefighters are set to get a new pay offer this week after more than 1000 days of tense negotiations.

The almost fully unionised department has for months been brandishing slogans on fire trucks calling for better staffing, working conditions and pay – unable to strike for public safety reasons.

However United Workers Unions NT secretary Erina Early said a formal enterprise bargaining agreement was expected to be handed down any day.

NT Firefighters have been writing slogans on their firetrucks as part of a protected industrial action during ongoing EBA negotiations. Picture: Supplied.

“Finally (the) government is going to address the retention and attraction issues for track stations – so in Gove, Yulara, Tennant Creek and Katherine and also attraction and retention for Alice Springs,” she said.

“No government has ever done this in the last 18 years so it’s quite a significant offer that is proposed to be tabled with us this week.”

Ms Early said while the details were yet to be confirmed, the union expected allowances of about 10 per cent of salaries as well as back pay over the almost three-year-long wait for a pay rise.

Boosted staffing levels in both Alice Springs and Darwin over the next year are also expected to be in the EBA, as well as safer resourcing on aerial firefighting equipment.

She said once the final offer was handed down the union would advise the government and Public Employment Commissioner’s office if they had an in-principle agreement, before it went to a member vote.

United Workers Union NT branch secretary Erina Early said the pay offer expected was a ‘significant’ breakthrough in the terse negotiations. Picture: Jason Walls

Ms Early said it was a “significant outcome” for the frontline workforce.

“It has taken a while for the government to listen to the firefighters … (but) they’re in a position where they know what they want, they know how to improve the working conditions for their workforce and they stood their guard,” she said.

“Our members went in there with priority claims and based on current discussions, every one of our members’ priority claims have been agreed in principle by the government.”

Public Employment Minister Paul Kirby said fireys would get a 3 per cent pay rise in line with other frontline workers, as well as attraction and retention allowances. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

Public Employment Minister Paul Kirby said the offer would include a 3 per cent baseline pay rise “in line with what other frontline workers” had received.

“We have worked really closely with the union and with the fireys to make sure that a lot of the concerns and issues that they had with recruitment up and down the track, particularly in some of those regional and remote areas, was addressed,” he said.

Mr Kirby said the delay was in part due to the 14 other public sector EBAs to have been negotiated in the same period.

“Unfortunately, it does take longer than you would like to get these agreements done,” he said.

“We absolutely thank our frontline workers, we know that the fireys were extremely happy to receive the offer that we put in front of them.”