News

All members are reminded of the fact that the Union’s 98th Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at 10 am Wednesday 17th December 2008 at the Trades Hall Sydney. The Union will be holding sub branch meetings in Newcastle (260 Stn) 10am Monday 15th, Central Coast (228 Stn) 2pm Monday 15th. Wollongong (503 Stn) 10am Tuesday 16th, Liverpool (8 Stn) 2pm Tuesday 16th and Huntingwood (97 Stn) 6pm Tuesday 16th.

Members also have the right to vote outside these locations provided certain criteria is met.

The Union has now also received legal advice from its Barrister on the likelihood of the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) accepting a station officers sub branch. That advice has confirmed the State Committee of Management’s concerns that the IRC would be highly unlikely to accept a station officers’ sub branch unless station officers could only belong to that sub branch. Alternately the IRC would likely require that all members of the Union were eligible to contest the station officers sub branch position on the State Committee of Management (see website for actual advice).

In the legal advice the Barrister has cited a number of elements of both the state and the federal Industrial Relations Act’s and regulations that are in conflict with the proposal and has cited case law that is incompatible with the proposal put forward. The Union’s State Committee of Management has recommended members not support the motion as follows:

be received and noted but not supported on the following basis;

(i) the current committee of management is comprised of 14 elected officials 7 of these hold the rank of station officer whilst station officer rank members represent just 12% of the Unions entire membership;

(ii) with a position on the Union’s committee of management established specifically for station officer members it would be inappropriate to also allow station officer members eligibility to contest all geographically defined positions on the Union’s committee of management;

(iii) the Union’s committee of management is itself currently seeking to reach a position it can take to the Union’s rank and file that will modernize the Union’s Rules and address the issues of representation, governance and increased participation by members in the Union’s direction and democratic control;

(iv) station officers, captains and firefighters have historically worked closely together and form the very foundation of a fire brigade and indeed of the camaraderie and team work that defines Unionism and the FBEU in particular. The Union’s committee of management believes that separating these ranks into discreet sub branches runs the risk of undermining our unity and creating division in the work place that is likely to be counter productive to our collective interests and dangerous on the fireground.”

Simon Flynn

State Secretary

All members are reminded of the fact that the Union’s 98th Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at 10 am Wednesday 17th December 2008 at the Trades Hall Sydney. The Union will be holding sub branch meetings in Newcastle (260 Stn) 10am Monday 15th, Central Coast (228 Stn) 2pm Monday 15th. Wollongong (503 Stn) 10am Tuesday 16th, Liverpool (8 Stn) 2pm Tuesday 16th and Huntingwood (97 Stn) 6pm Tuesday 16th.

Members also have the right to vote outside these locations provided certain criteria is met.

The Union has now also received legal advice from its Barrister on the likelihood of the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) accepting a station officers sub branch. That advice has confirmed the State Committee of Management’s concerns that the IRC would be highly unlikely to accept a station officers’ sub branch unless station officers could only belong to that sub branch. Alternately the IRC would likely require that all members of the Union were eligible to contest the station officers sub branch position on the State Committee of Management (see website for actual advice).

In the legal advice the Barrister has cited a number of elements of both the state and the federal Industrial Relations Act’s and regulations that are in conflict with the proposal and has cited case law that is incompatible with the proposal put forward. The Union’s State Committee of

Management has recommended members not support the motion as follows:

be received and noted but not supported on the following basis;

(i) the current committee of management is comprised of 14 elected officials 7 of these hold the rank of station officer whilst station officer rank members represent just 12% of the Unions entire membership;

(ii) with a position on the Union’s committee of management established specifically for station officer members it would be inappropriate to also allow station officer members eligibility to contest all geographically defined positions on the Union’s committee of management;

(iii) the Union’s committee of management is itself currently seeking to reach a position it can take to the Union’s rank and file that will modernize the Union’s Rules and address the issues of representation, governance and increased participation by members in the Union’s direction and democratic control;

(iv) station officers, captains and firefighters have historically worked closely together and form the very foundation of a fire brigade and indeed of the camaraderie and team work that defines Unionism and the FBEU in particular. The Union’s committee of management believes that separating these ranks into discreet sub branches runs the risk of undermining our unity and creating division in the work place that is likely to be counter productive to our collective interests and dangerous on the fireground.”

Simon Flynn

State Secretary