Firefighters strike as compo fight erupts



This was published 9 years ago

Firefighters strike as compo fight erupts

By Miles Godfrey, Adam Bennett and Lema Samandar

NSW's firefighters have staged their first strike for a generation as a bitter row over workers compensation escalated into a full-blown industrial dispute.

About 800 firefighters in Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast walked off the job at 1pm (AEST) on Thursday, leaving fire stations unmanned and the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and police struggling to provide replacement emergency cover.

Firefighters had demanded they be exempted from the WorkCover overhaul, like police and RFS workers.

However, their industrial action came to nothing when key crossbencher Fred Nile indicated he wouldn't push for that change to the workers compensation bill, saying they would be better off under the new system.

The strike had immediate repercussions as a house in Sans Souci, in Sydney's south, was engulfed in flames at 1.10pm (AEST).

A passing motorist ran into the burning home and saved the lives of a woman and a young boy inside before fire crews, who had been on their way to the protest, arrived.

Firefighters called the strike off at 5pm (AEST) after earlier threatening to continue through the night.

Fire Brigade Employees Union (FBEU) secretary Jim Casey had earlier agreed that the community might not be safe because of the strikes.

"Tragically no - this is a stoppage, we're walking out the door," he said.

But he said the union's hand had been forced. "We do not do this lightly. It's been 56 years since firefighters walked off the job in this state."


They voted to stage the strike during a series of meetings on Thursday morning.

In Sydney, about 300 FBEU members then marched to Parliament House to join nurses and construction workers at a rally protesting against the WorkCover reforms.

About 70 fire trucks, with their horns blaring, also arrived and firefighters extended a ladder over Parliament House and sprayed the roof with water.

That action could lead to criminal charges.

"As a result of the poor behaviour by a number involved in the protest NSW Police Force may pursue action against those individuals who may have broken the law," a police spokesman said.

Inside, Premier Barry O'Farrell was preparing a spray of his own - branding the strike the most irresponsible action taken by a union in NSW history.

Responding to an opposition call to suspend question time and meet the firefighters, Mr O'Farrell said the union had missed its chance.

"If you think I'm angry, you're right," he added.

Emergency Services Minister Mike Gallacher also condemned the strikes.

But Opposition Leader John Robertson backed the firefighters and said the government should have moved earlier to avert industrial action.

"These are men and women who every day go to work and put their lives on the line," he told reporters.

"They run into burning buildings when the rest of us are running out and they do it because up until now they knew that if something unfortunate happened to them, they and their families would be protected."

Debate over the WorkCover reforms was set to continue in parliament on Thursday night, with the government keen to have the laws passed by the end of the week.

The changes involve compensation payouts for injured workers being reduced after 13 weeks of claims, replacing the existing system of 100 per cent payouts for 26 weeks.

However, a proposal to scrap claims for injuries sustained travelling to and from work was overturned, after the government agreed to an amendment from Mr Nile to replace it with a more restricted system based on the South Australian law.

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