CODE 2, VOL 38, NO 15 : 7 June 2024

10/14 STATION START AND FINISH TIMES BALLOT – INFORMATION

You are likely to have seen or at least heard about the email from the ‘Organisational Development Branch’ advising QFES is conducting a ballot of all Firefighters and Station Officers about a consistent start and finish time to apply to all 10/14 stations. Apparently, this is organisational development!

You may recall I advised in 2022 that QFES had included this concept in their CA22 list of claims, as they hoped to bargain in that the UFUQ would agree to one or the other times for all stations. Your union disagreed with this and QFES withdrew their claim. To be clear, the UFUQ would never have agreed to a single choice of start and finish times being made.

The QFES email states ‘Please be assured that irrespective of the ballot result, existing local processes, including pre-shift handover activities and flexible working arrangements, will continue to be supported’.  Your union understands that many of our members have family responsibilities that are difficult to change, with some dictated by the courts and other obligations that this change may affect.  They are all very valid issues that will need to be worked through. The UFUQ will assist and guide those members that need help.

The fire service has made the decision to make uniform the start and finish times across the state for every station on the 10/14 roster. Unfortunately, there are no reasonable grounds for the union to dispute this issue at the QIRC as the employer has the right to set the start and finish times.

John Oliver - General Secretary