AUXILIARY UPDATE : 30 october 2020

YEAH… BUT WHAT HAS THE UNION EVER DONE FOR US?

Just in case some of you haven’t been paying attention to communications from your state office across the past 6 years, here is a brief list of some of the achievements relating to your terms and conditions of employment your union (the UFUQ) have obtained for you –

Auxiliary Award – 2016 –
• Historic first award commenced 1 January 2016.
• Increased wages annually linked to the State Wage Case.
• Introduction of penalty rates for the first time and then enforcement through arbitration of their application to your work.

Broader strategic gains –
• Obtaining presumptive workers’ compensation laws for many types of cancer.
• Working with the state government to introduce a Bill to parliament for presumptive workers’ compensation laws for PTSI.
• Making submissions to multiple state and federal draft Bills, to ensure the lawmakers consider the point of view of auxiliary firefighters.

Other achievements –
• Captains allowance dispute taken to the industrial commissions and resolved in favour of captains.
• Retention allowance dispute resolved in your favour in the commission.
• Increased superannuation arising from increased wages.
• Clarifying long service leave entitlements.
• Working to ensure the GWN faults were exposed, and now working to bring back analogue options in emergency situations.
• Working to kill off the failed PSBA and to bring back essential roles to QFES and QFRS.
• A return to Fire and Rescue badging, uniforms and insignia (to commence roll-out in early 2021).
• Multiple member’s personal issues resolved in their favour (these cannot be reported, but there are many of them).
• Many matters lodged at the industrial commission settled in favour of you and your colleagues on almost every single occasion.
• Constant ongoing work amongst the state office industrial officers and your elected officials to always stay on top of wherever QFES and QFRS are working to reduce your terms and conditions of employment.

I have no doubt that when you discuss these achievements, you and your colleagues will quickly think of more to add to this list.

Your membership of the UFUQ continues to provide you and your colleagues with dividends both financial and strategic. Your employment is as stable as it has ever been, in tough economic and industrially challenging times.

It promises to be an incredible period of growth between now and 2024, and I’ll report back to you in much more detail on where to from here before the end of the year.

John Oliver - General Secretary