WA firefighters threaten State Parliament rally over ‘insulting’ wage increase offer

WA firefighters have threatened to rally on State Parliament in a potential dramatic escalation of their industrial action, describing the McGowan Government’s latest wage offer as “insulting”. The warning was issued by United Professional Firefighters Union of WA President Clem Chan on Monday, as he revealed members had shut down the State’s fireys training school from 8am. It comes as the union has pulled 100 firefighters out of backroom roles at DFES and onto the frontline. Mr Chan said industrial action was historically unprecedented for firefighters but their latest pay deal after six months of negotiations was “an absolute disgrace”. Speaking outside the Department of Fire and Emergency Services Training Academy, Mr Chan said a mass march on Parliament House could “happen within the next week”. The training shutdown, which impacts about 30 people in the latest cohort, marks the first major step in what could be a long industrial action campaign. Mr Chan said members across all departmental levels were “fed up” and he was disappointed that the latest offer met “zero” of their five laid out “key claims”. The union joined nurses and police in January in demanding a 5 per cent pay rise and also called for a substantial workforce expansion plus higher superannuation employer contributions. They also want annual leave loading of 17.5 per cent and overtime rates of time-and-a-half for the first three hours, increasing to double rates thereafter, which is in line with what most other public sector workers received. “This morning as of 8 am, our firefighters commenced action against the State Government and its insulting wages offer,” Mr Chan said. “We have had an impact on operational support and administrative services within the department. “We have spent nearly six months in negotiations in good faith with this Government to try and come up with a good fair and reasonable offer.” The latest offer laid down a $60 per week or 3 per cent per annum pay rise plus a one-off $3000 cost-of-living payment, which they would only receive after reaching an in-principle agreement. Firefighters angrily unanimously voted to reject the offer as “contemptuous” at a meeting last Wednesday evening. “What we received in response to our five key claims was zero out of five claims. Three per cent just doesn’t cut it,” Mr Chan said. “If we continue to be treated in this fashion by the WA state government, firefighters will rally. “Firefighters will take up to Parliament House to essentially lay down this absolute joke of an offer at Parliament steps to let the WA state government know exactly what they think of it.” “Our firefighters, officers and senior officers are fed up. They’ve had enough.” Mr Chan said the union was aware of the consequences, learning lessons from the WA nurses and midwives State Parliament rally, but would be launching industrial action to fight for better pay and working conditions. He, however, declared that firefighters wouldn’t leave stations unmanned, saying the rally would involve non-rostered fireys, vowing not to compromise the safety of West Aussies during their industrial action. “WA fighters, again from the station upwards, will never leave the public in the lurch,” he said. “We will never undertake action that is going to compromise community safety.” Mr Chan said the inclusion of senior staff and chief superintendents in the action illustrated that the frustration over the offer was widespread. He vowed action would continue for “as long as it takes” and “nothing is off the cards” for fired-up members. “Everybody from the ground floor all the way up to the very top of this organization is sending a very clear message to this government, which is ‘you haven’t given us a good enough offer’,” he said. “Again, the firefighters historically have been very reluctant to take this sort of action, because they do understand the impact it can have. “Our people are doing two jobs for the price of one and we just can’t accept that anymore. “We won’t stop at any length to try and make that message.” Firefighters were included in the State COVID compliance response, assisted driving ambulances during a ramping crisis across hospitals, and have aided the recovery efforts from Cyclone Seroja and the Kimberley floods.