Victoria let firefighters union wield power

When governments accept public sector union officials as policymakers and political equals rather than employee representatives, the community interest is at risk. An investigation by Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission reports that fire service staff accessed internal emails and shared information with the United Firefighters Union, Victoria editor Damon Johnston has revealed. The misuse “was to further the interests of the UFU or its secretary, Peter Marshall”. IBAC also states Mr Marshall asked employees to gather information on, among other things, “internal investigations related to him”.

The importance of IBAC’s report goes way beyond its conclusions of corruption, significant though they are. They set out the damage and dangers that occur when ministers decide that the constituents who matter most are union officials. In this case it is as if Mr Marshall assumed the union had the right to run the fire service; at the very least, to participate in the process. If so, he would have a point.

The fire service enterprise bargaining agreement requires consultation with staff on major workplace change – a standard term in EBAs – but it adds, unusually, “agree”, giving the union effective authority over management decisions it does not like. IBAC spells out what this means. While acknowledging the right to union representation is “fundamental”, in this case the firefighters’ union influence over operations “meant the organisation was unable to function effectively”.

Mr Marshall is an experienced apparatchik – 30 years in his job next year – and he is used to getting what he wants. In 2016, he wanted union firefighters to have expanded roles in the operations of the Country Fire Authority, a volunteer force that protects country Victorians, with tens of thousands more members than he commands. Daniel Andrews, then premier, was amenable but emergency services minister Jane Garrett resigned.

IBAC has demonstrated the damage entrenched union bosses can do, especially for state Labor governments employing vast public sector workforces. Negotiating wage agreements is especially difficult when demands for more and higher-paid staff conflict with budget reality. The only thing premiers fear more than nurses or teachers striking is firefighters going out. It is even harder when union officials build power bases and conflate their union’s interests with those of the community. Mr Marshall is not elected by Victorians but IBAC demonstrates he has wielded power in a crucial aspect of emergency services.