Labor’s EBA deal is a ‘stitch up’

State Liberal Member for Eildon Cindy McLeish MP has labelled the Andrews Labor Government’s EBA deal between the CFA and the United Firefighters Union as a ‘stitch up’.

“Daniel Andrews has stitched up the signing of the UFU’s checklist EBA by appointing his own handpicked CFA board.”

“This is yet another slap in the face to the 60,000 CFA volunteers who are being ignored by Daniel Andrews and Labor,” Ms McLeish said.

Last week the CFA Board rubber stamped the EBA that puts Victoria’s largest volunteer organisation at risk of total union control.

It has since been revealed that the statement declaring board’s approval of the EBA had been released before the board had met to deliberate on the matter.

“The board met on last Friday night, with the statement from the chair announcing that the CFA board had endorsed the EBA initially published, distributed and time stamped at 10.36 a.m. — 5 hours before the board even met.”

“This is just another example of the Premier making sure he gets his own way”

“In two short months he pushed out his Minister, sacked the independent CFA Board, forced out the CEO and forced the CFA’s Chief Fire Officer to resign.”

“They were all pushed for the same reason – they had the guts to disagree with the Premier and Peter Marshall to defend Victoria’s volunteers,” Ms McLeish said.

Ms McLeish welcomed today’s Victorian Supreme Court’s decision to send the dispute to trial.

“Because Daniel Andrews has bullied his deal through, our volunteers’ only way to immediately put a stop to the deal is through the courts. It just shows that volunteers don’t want this grubby deal and the Premier has turned his back on them.”