"What the [agreement] says is basically that the union firefighters will no longer have to take instruction from volunteer firefighters. A new agreement proposed by the United Firefighters Union would see professional firefighters given more power over the members of the volunteer Country Fire Authority. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken the unusual step of intervening directly in a state-based industrial dispute, publishing an open letter to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews over union agreements for firefighters. I am particularly concerned by reports that thousands of CFA volunteers will resign if this is implemented. The effective subordination of the CFA volunteers to the members of the UFU runs the grave risk of seriously demoralising and demotivating the volunteers.

Source: Huffington Post June 05, 2016 04:55 UTC