Fire Rescue Victoria staff seek intervention over stalled pay deals

Corporate and technical staff at Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) are calling for government intervention to resolve stalled pay negotiations. Employees in administrative, legal, and technology roles have not received a pay increase since 2021, as a new enterprise agreement has remained unfinalized for five years.

Staff members have signed a petition urging the agency and the state government to bypass the United Firefighters Union and present a deal directly to workers for a vote. Some employees allege that United Firefighters Union leader Peter Marshall is intentionally delaying the agreement to use it as leverage in a separate, ongoing pay dispute involving the state’s operational firefighters.

According to anonymous sources, the delay may also serve as a loophole to allow the union to continue campaigning activities on FRV worksites that would otherwise be restricted by the Fair Work Commission during the firefighters' own dispute.