Issue No 24 | 30 July 1999 | |
NewsSTOP PRESS - Firefighters Seek End To Safety Apartheid
More than one thousand fire fighters left their helmets outside State Parliament Sunday, refusing to respond to emergency calls until the Government agrees to end a two-tiered benefit structure for workers who are killed or injured.
The action by firefighters, the first in more than a decade, follows the Carr Government refusal to close an anomaly which sees those employed since 1985 on vastly inferior benefits enjoyed by those who were employed before that date. The Fire Brigade Employees Union says members in the former category will not answer any calls that place them at risk until the differences are addressed and all fire fighters receive decent death and disability protection. So while they will continue to turn up for work, they will refuse to respond to emergency calls. The NSW Fire Brigade has been opposing the action in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, where Commissioner Ian Cambridge has branded the actions as "plainly unreasonable, unnecessarily pedantic and against the interests of industrial harmony,". The IRC went on to observe that the Government's stance in this dispute "represents a significant and disturbing departure from responsible and appropriate conduct on the part of a major employer in this State". (A full copy of the Commission's Statement can be found at - http://fbeu.labor.net.au) In media interviews the Fire Brigade Commissioner Ian MacDougall has been quick to put his boot into his firefighters by warning the public that the workers were seeking "lifetime pensions" for "fishing trips" and "water skiing accidents". But the FBEU and their members maintain they have the high moral ground in a dispute that has its genesis in the years of the Wran Government which slashed benefits for new workers under the State Superannuation Fund (SSF).
FBEU state secretary Chris Read says the union remains shocked and amazed by the Carr Government's continued refusal to restore equitable entitlements for firefighters who are killed or injured. "Our claim is a simple one of equity," Read says. "The only way our members will ever access these benefits is through death or permanent injury, so we'll hardly be queuing up to claim them. Perhaps if we were asking for the same outrageous benefits that politicians themselves receive it would be different, but we're not."
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Interview: The Man in the Hot Seat WorkCover general manger John Grayson cut his teeth in the trade union movement. Now he�s trying to save the state�s workers compensation scheme. Unions: Turning Up The Heat: Bush Fire Officers Seek Award Justice "We want an award for the job that we do, not the job other people want us to do". Donald Bushby, and his fellow Fire Control Officers, know what they want. It's simple: an award for FCO's and deputy FCO's, an award that recognises who they are, the job they do, the pressures they have to live with. International: The Virtual Labour Congress International trade unions are launching an online debate on Labour in the 21th century. Legal: The Source of the Issue Recent legal developments place the spotlight on the outsourcing of government activities. Review: The Split that Changed a Nation A new book looks at the Cold War ALP split that redefined politics in this country. Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre Read the latest issue of Labour Review, Labor Council's resource for unionists. Satire: Man Takes Home Pay - More Pokies Needed The NSW government has expressed concern following the release of a second report by the Productivity Commission which shows that a majority of employed people still spend their pay on luxury items such as food and clothing for their family.
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