The drawn-out dispute around the enterprise bargaining agreement for career firefighters has caused stress and anxiety among Werribee brigade members, Captain Michael Wells says.
Mr Wells said he understood the United Firefighters Union (UFU), representing professional firefighters, had extensive documentation and a log of claims to negotiate, about which he said he had limited knowledge. “Interpretations can vary between parties; thus it’s quite hard to comment on how operations will change locally.”
Mr Wells said there were some concerns within the CFA that operations would be impacted as would the work of consultative committees.
“Any adverse actions that may affect this, be they perceived or actual, are of a concern,” he said. “That the CFA is concerned will obviously cause some degree of stress and anxiety to my members and the CFA brigades as a whole.”
Among concerns were possible changes to command and control at local incidents, staff interaction in relation to reporting and command, how changes would work practically, and lack of acknowledgement of the role of volunteers.
Mr Wells said the UFU had met with Wyndham brigade volunteers to address these concerns.
“As we’re a fully volunteer brigade, we are always managing the motivation and retention of our members,” he said.
“It’s important that all parties remain respectful of the others’ point of view.”
Mr Wells said any EBA could be an emotive and difficult time for all parties involved and for anyone who believed they may be impacted by the process.
“I’m supportive of the best outcome for our fellow career firefighters, and there will always be concern if volunteers feel as though they are being discriminated against.”
Mr Wells said, currently, there was no change for Werribee’s model of service delivery, and it would remain a volunteer brigade.
