By JESSE GRAHAM
HEALESVILLE firefighters have slammed a controversial agreement they say could strip volunteers of their power, with Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett resigning and the CFA board to be sacked over an industrial relations dispute.
Healesville CFA volunteer George Trumble told the Mail that an enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) being disputed by the United Firefighters Union (UFU), the Victorian Government and CFA could disenfranchise volunteers.
He criticised aspects of the EBA, including a ‘seven on the fire ground’ clause he said would require seven paid firefighters to be dispatched to a fire before work could begin.
“If there’s a fire in Healesville, we have to wait until they come up from probably Ringwood … before we can do anything,” he said.
“By that time, the house would be burnt to the ground – and there could be people trapped in the house.”
Mr Trumble made the comments while handing around petitions with Eildon MP Cindy McLeish on Thursday, 2 June, at Healesville Walk Shopping Centre – but they are claims vehemently refuted by the UFU.
Ms McLeish said the EBA would see a “differentiation of treatment” for volunteers and paid staff, and that the demands of the agreement would not work in rural areas such as the Yarra Valley.
“CFAs grew out of small communities and volunteerism – people helping each other – and now that’s all being pushed,” she said.
However, a release from the UFU on 7 June said the agreement would only cover 31 integrated stations, where there were both paid and volunteer firefighters, out of the state’s 1200 fire stations.
The government also announced that 350 new paid firefighters would be brought into integrated stations to roll-out the ‘seven on the fire-ground’ model.
The letter stated that volunteers would still be able to be incident controllers at fire-grounds or emergencies, one of the points of contention for volunteer firefighters.
Discussions around the EBA boiled over last week, when Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett resigned from cabinet on Friday 10 June, to be replaced with Deputy Premier and Monbulk MP James Merlino.
Mr Merlino, along with Premier Daniel Andrews, issued an ultimatum for the CFA Board to accept the EBA before 5pm on Friday, but a Supreme Court injunction to postpone the signing was granted until 22 June.
The board had raised concerns that the agreement in its current form may be unlawful, and could not be signed, but the government responded by beginning proceedings to remove the board.
CFA volunteers from across the state told other media outlets that they would consider resigning if the agreement passed in its current form.
