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UPDATE FOR MEMBERS - 23 AUGUST 2016

Yesterday, Monday 22 August, the Federal Government released its draft legislation, the Fair Work Amendment (Respect for Emergency Services Volunteers) Bill 2016 in accordance with its commitment made during the Federal Election (you can download a copy of the Bill below).

VFBV was able to provide valuable input to the development of the legislation, and we are very pleased that it has shaped up in a way that we believe meets our concerns and deals with the practical issues affecting volunteers.

The legislation will be a simple change to the Fair Work Act, making it objectionable for workplace agreements to restrict or limit the emergency service organisation’s ability to:

  •          engage or deploy its volunteers;
  •          provide support or equipment to those volunteers;
  •          manage its relationship with, or work with, any recognised emergency management body in relation to those volunteers;
  •          otherwise manage its operations in relation to those volunteers;

The legislation will also provide an ability for volunteers, through bodies such as VFBV, to make submissions to Fair Work Australia in respect of these issues if we have any concerns.

The amendments aim to fix an anomaly in Commonwealth law that affects CFA volunteers and the volunteers of other emergency service organisations covered by the Fair Work Act. The anomaly, which has been of concern over recent months, allows enterprise agreements for paid emergency service workers to override State emergency management laws such as the CFA Act.

For CFA volunteers, the anomaly means that if the proposed UFU agreement was adopted under current Commonwealth industrial law, it would effectively allow industrial interference into the organisation, operation and support of CFA volunteers, and CFA decision making affecting volunteers.

The Federal Government proposes to table the legislation next week, the first sitting week of the new Parliament.  We are hopeful that it will get support from all sides of politics in both Houses of Parliament, and volunteers from Victoria and other States will be working with MPs and Senators to explain the need for, and benefits of, the legislation and the importance of it to volunteers.

The legislation has no impact on pay negotiations, but does provide a mechanism to address the concerns that have been broadly discussed about the current EBA.

The votes of independents and smaller parties may be crucial in getting the legislation through the Senate, and there are some early signs of support.  Newly elected Senator Derryn Hinch has been on radio this morning, expressing his support, and South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon has written to the Council of Australian Volunteer Fire Associations (CAVFA), expressing his support for moves to rectify the anomaly, so we are hopeful that this is a sign of support to come.

In the meantime, VFBV’s preparation for the Supreme Court action beginning on 22 September is under way, and one of the most important things Brigades can be doing is helping us promote the fundraising for this initiative, and encouraging people to support volunteers by visiting our website www.vfbv.com.au to make a donation, or fundraising through work with community groups, sausage sizzles and other local efforts.

Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews, the new Minister for Emergency Services James Merlino, the CFA Board and management, and the UFU Secretary Peter Marshall, have all made claims that they have no intention of the EBA negatively impacting on the role of volunteers, the provision of support to volunteers or CFA decision making.  As such, we would expect that they have no problem with the proposed Fair Work legislation, and therefore we expect their support also.

We disagree with their assessment as to whether the proposed EBA does or does not impact on volunteers, and as such we see the Fair Work Act legislative amendment as very sensible and very necessary protection for volunteers and the work we do.

Published in VFBV News
Tuesday, 26 April 2016 00:00

A time to honour our fallen firefighters

CFA Media release - Thursday, 21 April 2016

Victorians are invited to pay respect to the state’s fallen firefighters by attending the Annual Memorial Service for Firefighters on Sunday, 1 May.

Memorial services are held in a different regional centre each year, with the 2016 service to be held in Wodonga.

CFA Chief Executive Officer Lucinda Nolan said the service was dedicated to remembering firefighters who had given their lives in the line of duty.

“There are 67 members who have lost their lives through service to the community,” Ms Nolan said.

“The number of people directly affected by this loss is even greater, and we pay our respects to their friends, families and loved ones.

“More broadly, it’s a time to honour the personal sacrifices and commitment that our firefighters make each and every day.

“We are forever changed by each of these losses and lessons we’ve learned as a result continue to shape our organisation.”

CFA Chief Officer Joe Buffone said the service would also mark the 10-year anniversary of the deaths of Barnawartha Fire Brigade member Rebecca Helwig and former Campbell’s Creek Urban Fire Brigade Captain Trevor Day.

“The passing of both members in separate accidents in 2006 hit the CFA community hard,” Mr Buffone said.   

“It is a constant reminder of the inherent dangers posed by not just firefighting, but within any emergency services organisation.”

Three new CFA memorial banners will be unveiled at this year’s service as a representation of CFA’s memorial wall.

The memorial is held on the Sunday closest to International Firefighters’ Day, known as St Florian’s Day (4 May).

This will be the 18th service held in regional Victoria with the 2015 service held in Ballarat.

The service will be held from 2pm at the Sacred Heart Church, Beechworth Road, Wodonga.

Published in CFA News
Wednesday, 25 September 2013 00:00

CFA VOLUNTEERS' CANCER PETITION

UPDATE 7 NOVEMBER 2014 - VFBV Cautiously Welcomes Coalition's Cancer Announcement

Click here for VFBV's response

UPDATE 10 OCTOBER 2014 - First Batch of Petitions goes to Parliament

VFBV has lodged the first batch of petitions being collected across Victoria to urge the Government to fix problems with the existing firefighters’ cancer compensation process.

VFBV is hopeful the presentation of these petitions to the Victorian Parliament next week will help convince MPs of all parties to fix a problem that has now been fixed in most other States across Australia.

Over 17,000 signatures are included in this first batch, making this one of the largest petitions to be presented to the current Parliament. In the meantime, the campaign continues and volunteers are urged to keep collecting signatures and posting completed petitions to VFBV, PO Box 453, Mt Waverley 3149.

The first batch of petitions was lodged with the assistance of Labor MP for Narre Warren North, Luke Donnellan, and Liberal MP for Hastings, Neale Burgess.

UPDATE SEPT 22 - SEND IN SIGNED PETITIONS NOW, TO;

VFBV Cancer Petition

PO Box 453

Mt Waverley 3149

And keep collecting signatures to support CFA volunteers with cancer

CLICK HERE to download the 12 page petition

Start collecting today - from friends, family and the community.

Why?  Firefighters are more likely to suffer certain types of cancer, but if they become sick, the existing compensation system makes it almost impossible for them to be looked after.

Other States have fixed the problem, but Victoria lags behind. 

Help Firefighters to cut through the RED TAPE and make it simpler and fairer to access cancer compensation

CLICK HERE to download the big 50 page petition

HOW TO DO IT;

  • The Victorian Parliament requires each signature to have a name and address, and the petition must only be signed on one side of the paper
  • When you have a reasonable batch of signed petitions, send them in and keep collecting
  • Post them to VFBV, PO Box 453, Mt Waverley 3149 (If you need help with the cost of return postage, call the VFBV office on 03 9886 1141)
  • Take the petition everywhere with you
  • Organise your Brigade to collect signatures in shopping streets, at community, church or sporting events – wherever large numbers of people are gathering
  • We need thousands more signatures by 15 September, so send what you have before then

Want to read more about the issue? Download our;

VFBV’s Notes for Volunteers or

VFBV’s Notes for MPs

 

Published in Uncategorised
Monday, 11 March 2013 00:00

VFBV Publications

This page is a resource for volunteers, with a wide range of useful documents for download, including;

To find VFBV's monthly newsletter, our Page 2 column in FireWise, click here.

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An Adobe Acrobat file 2MinuteBriefingPackageDecember2014 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 2 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV Constitution 2012 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 1.06 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file 2014 VFBV Brigade Delegate Pack Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 1.08 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file 2014 VFBV Volunteer Welfare and Efficiency Survey Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 3.01 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20100727 - VFBV News Note to MPs - Volunteers Back Premiers Decision Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 599.81 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20100909 - VFBV News Note to MPs - Union Deal a Setback Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 523.62 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20101116 - VFBV News Note - Special State Council Meeting Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 545.27 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20130913 - VFBV News Note - Presumptive legislation Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 299.54 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20140303 - VFBV News Note - CFA Fleet Funding Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 756.98 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20140409 - VFBV Notes for MPs - Firefighters Cancer Law Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 362.23 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20140515 - VFBV Notes for Volunteers - Cancer Campaign Trust Fund Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 551.36 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20140612 - VFBV Brief to Members on FAP Operations Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 390.63 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20140612 - VFBV News Note to Volunteers - Firefighters Assessment Panel Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 351.92 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20141126 - Urgent News Note from VFBV Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 449.46 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20150924 - VFBV Notes for Volunteers - Fire Services Review Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 436.98 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20151012 - VFBV Notes for Volunteers - Firefighters Cancer Law Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 560.65 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20160420 - VFBV Note to Members - Latest Reports on CFA-UFU EBA Negotiation Developments Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 361.42 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20160802 - VFBV Note to Members - VFBV-CFA Consultation on Operational Staff EBA Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 509.13 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20160816 - VFBV Note to Members - CFA and EBA Supreme Court Action Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 468.95 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20160816 - VFBV Note to Members - CFA and the EBA Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 468.84 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20160819 - VFBV Note to Members - EBA to go to Court Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 517.1 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file 20160905 - VFBV News Note - Fundraising Update for Members Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 755.61 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file CFA Volunteers Cancer Petition - 50 Page Kit FINAL Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 866.14 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file CFA Volunteers Cancer Petition - Full Kit Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 626.34 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV 2 Minute Briefing - December 2015 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 2.4 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV 2 Minute Briefing - December 2016 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 454.64 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV Annual Report 2012-13 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 12.64 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV Annual Report 2013-14 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 4.14 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV Annual Report 2014-15 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 2.74 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV Constitution - amended 15 September 2013 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 338.07 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV Welfare and Efficiency Report 2013 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 2.49 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV Welfare and Efficiency Report Trends 2012-13 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 1.43 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV Welfare and Efficiency Survey - Summary for Participants Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 645.52 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file VFBV Welfare and Efficiency Survey Final Report 2012 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 2.36 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file Volunteer Charter 2011 Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 2.39 MB
An Adobe Acrobat file Volunteer Code Of Conduct Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 361.75 KB
An Adobe Acrobat file Welfare Fund Brochure Download Preceding File Preview in Google Docs Viewer 444.59 KB

Published in Library
CFA Volunteers are the unpaid professionals of our Emergency Services. VFBV is their united voice, and speaks on behalf of Victoria's 60,000 CFA Volunteers.

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