A very well attended meeting of striking State Emergency Services was held Friday 20 July. CPSU members condemned management inaction on their enterprise agreement negotiations to seek parity with other emergency services and voted unanimously to express no confidence in SES management.

The meeting/rally took place today opposite the SES headquarters in Southbank.

Out of a possible 50 operational employees, 45 attended the rally and expressed no confidence in the CEO, the Executive and the Board of VICSES – Victoria State Emergency Services.

A skeleton staff remained in regional Victoria to ensure that if a dangerous situation occurred an interim management plan could be activated.

A terrific show of unity will now make clear to VICSES how their employees on the frontline of emergency service feels. Let down by undertakings to fix the pay, health and safety and conditions issues made since 2005, again in 2009 and 18 months of fruitless negotiations this time round,  emergency services staff made it clear they’ve had enough.

SES full time members receive dramatically less pay and conditions than their CFA equivalents. So members called on the Minister Peter Ryan to implement with SES management the long awaited review of SES jobs, against the CFA comparison, and to guarantee to commit to and put in place the outcome.

It’s about respect as much as the difference in rates.

Recognising the cost implications members are prepared to see parity introduced in an agreed time frame over the life of a new agreement.
 

JIM WALTON

Victorian Assistant Branch Secretary