NSW: Firefighters warn of industrial action

AAP General News (Australia)
08-21-2000
NSW: Firefighters warn of industrial action

By Natalie Davison, Industrial Reporter

SYDNEY, Aug 21 AAP - New South Wales could be left without any state firefighting service
from tomorrow, with firefighters threatening to walk off the job indefinitely over death
and disability entitlements.

The dispute over government compensation to firefighters if they are killed or injured
on the job has been running for more than a year. It is due before the NSW Industrial
Relations Commission tomorrow afternoon.

The dispute involves full-time and part time urban fire services. It does not involve
the rural (bushfire) fire brigades.

The Fire Brigade Employees Union (FBEU) state president Darryl Snow said the union
was appalled by the government's negotiating style and had recommended its workers hold
a general strike, which could be held at the drop of a hat.

"We're not ruling anything in and we're not ruling anything out," he said.

The union said its 6,000 part time and full time officers were outraged by a series
of state government newspaper ads last week which claimed the government's latest offer
was fair and reasonable.

The government ads acknowledged the hard work of firefighters and claimed that under
a new "fair and generous" scheme, firefighters would be fully covered if they were injured
or killed on the job.

But Mr Snow said the full coverage included a contribution from firefighters themselves.

"Our members are really angry after seeing those ads and they're willing to do just
about anything," he said.

Mr Snow warned if a strike did go ahead, the union would not provide skeleton staff
to cover any emergencies.

"We've been down that path before," he said.

"If the members vote on this then it will involved everyone walking out."

The union said at present more than half the state's firefighters are not covered by
any scheme if they are killed or injured on the job. About 1,500 firefighters are entitled
to a one-off payment.

The remaining 1,500 are fully covered under a compensation scheme which had been in
place for 80 years, but was scrapped by the government in 1985.

Mr Snow said firefighters would not be so cynical about the government's stance if
Premier Bob Carr and Emergency Services Minister Bob Debus, who remain on the fully covered
pre-1985 public sector benefit scheme, took up the same offer they were putting to firefighters.

A spokeswoman for Mr Debus defended the ads, saying they were a community service.

She also said the ads proved the government was committed to negotiating in good faith.

AAP nd/cjh/de

KEYWORD: FIREFIGHTERS (CARRIED EARLIER)

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