UFUSA Shop Stewards and State Councillors have been called together to meet today at 11:00 hours at the UFU office at Torrensville to hear a report on progress of the enterprise agreement negotiations.
While a number of matters have been progressed in recent negotiations, the issue of fair firefighter wages remains a focus for our union, to date unresolved.
Correspondence was directed to the Premier and relevant Ministers on Friday, 14 October 2022 outlining our concerns and firefighters’ anger at the government’s failure to fulfil the commitments given to us in relation to enterprise agreement negotiations and required by the Fair Work Act such as bargaining in good faith in a timely manner and exchanging information in an open and transparent way. Recent Wordbacks have detailed those concerns.
Our correspondence has resulted in further discussions with government though concerningly at the time of writing, we have not received a written offer from the employer – our correspondence of 14/10 emphasised that we remain open to dialogue at all times and that we seek a written offer.
The meeting today will receive and discuss an updated report with a recommendation to be considered for immediate action to continue to progress our claim for wage justice for firefighters. Please ensure your workplace is represented and has a say.
Members will be immediately advised of the outcome of the deliberations of today’s meeting of representatives of firefighters employed by the SAMFS.
Meanwhile the struggle of firefighters interstate and overseas for fair wages continues to escalate, most recently the dispute of firefighters employed in aviation who are seeking safety provisions together with wage increases of 5% per annum.
The UFUSA stand in solidarity with our fellow firefighters as we know they do with us.
In solidarity,
