CFA sources claim United Firefighters Union drain taxpayers dry
EXCLUSIVE: THE former chief of Victoria’s emergency services has lashed out at what he claims is the bully-boy tactics of the UFU, as its members drain taxpayers’ dollars.
EXCLUSIVE: THE former chief of Victoria’s emergency services has lashed out at what he claims is the bully-boy tactics of the United Firefighters Union, as its members drain taxpayers’ dollars.
CFA sources say 600 United Firefighters Union members raked in an average $60,000 in overtime and allowances in 2017-18.
Within that group, 260 UFU firefighters managed to earn an average $225,000 each, once generous overtime penalties and allowances were added to their salaries.
The startling revelations come as former Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Craig Lapsley launched a scathing attack on the UFU and the Andrews Government, saying they would remove anyone who got in their way.
Mr Lapsley said he and other emergency service leaders had learnt the cost of challenging Labor’s UFU mates, especially when it came to supporting the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission’s report into harassment and bullying in the CFA and MFB.
“The UFU have taken a position that anyone in senior leadership positions should be removed if connected to the report or have openly and proactively supported the broader diversity and inclusive agenda for the emergency services sector and the work of the VEOHRC,” he said.
READ MORE: CRAIG LAPSLEY BREAKS HIS SILENCE
The Andrews Government reacted to Mr Lapsley’s claims by threatening him on Monday with legal action within hours of The Weekly Times lodging a series of questions with Deputy Premier and Emergency Services Minister James Merlino on the former commissioner’s claims.
The evidence shows the stakes are high for the UFU, which also controls CFA recruitment, rostering and staff locations.
CFA sources say 600 of the CFA’s 1200 operational firefighters earned the lion’s share of $30 million in overtime and $18 million paid out in 2017-18.
And the situation is about to get worse, after the Andrews Government’s deal earlier this year to lift UFU firefighters allowances by 19 per cent.
While the number of career firefighters has now grown to almost 1400, the overtime bill has already blown out $10 million in the first three months of the 2018-19 financial year, with another $8 million handed out in allowances.
Ultimately the cost will have to be recovered from Victorian households and businesses, via the Fire Services Property Levy on their rates bills.
The 2016-17 CFA annual report showed its wages bill had already grown by $56.6 million, reaching $322.3 million on the back of massive pay hikes for United Firefighters Union members and a recruitment surge.
The Andrews Government refused to table the 2017-18 CFA annual report during the last sitting weeks of parliament in September, despite the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office signing off on the authority’s financials on August 30.
The overtime and allowance data comes from frustrated CFA sources, angered by the control that the UFU has over recruitment and staff placement.
They claim 50-60 positions are deliberately kept vacant in the CFA to ensure there is always ample opportunity for the UFU to select firefighters to fill them, rewarding firefighters with shifts that can earn up to $1600 if they are placed away from home at a more distant station.
One senior former CFA officer said the figure of 260 career firefighters earning $225,000 seemed a “bit low”.
The shortages give the UFU incredible power to command member loyalty, given the financial rewards on offer from generous overtime and allowances. “It’s like a cult, there’s the threat of being boycotted, black-banned or isolated and harassed,” the former CFA officer said.
One example outlined by another CFA member co-ordinating the Wye River fires in 2015 said a request was made for Geelong career firefighter backup to assist in mopping up operations.
“That would normally take them two hours travelling time plus eight hours on the fireground, then they could return to Geelong,” the source said.
“The request was made and of course the union had to approve it, and we were told ‘you can’t do that, you’ll have to take them (career firefighters) from Frankston and Dandenong’, which meant overnight stays, more travel time and other allowances.”
The CFA refused to comment on the 2017-18 financials, simply stating: “Overtime and allowances are paid to career firefighters for a number of reasons, including training our firefighters in emergency medical response, as well as the other allowances they are entitled to under the enterprise bargaining agreement.
“We have 1400 career firefighters who move from location to location as operationally required.
“There is always going to be vacancies in an organisation of this size at any given time because staff are able to seek transfers and promotions in different parts of the state.
“We move firefighters to support operational activities anywhere around Victoria where the skill set and the resources are required.”
UFU state secretary Peter Marshall did not respond to requests for comment.
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