FIREFIGHTERS protested outside the office of Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke last week calling for greater pay and more protections.
Edbrooke was appointed emergency services minister by Premier Ben Carroll earlier this year. The United Firefighters Union gathered outside the offices of Edbrooke and Carroll early last week amidst stalled negotiations for improved conditions for operational staff. UFU Victorian branch secretary Peter Marshall said that during Fair Work Commission proceedings the state government had pursued “legal arguments that threaten longstanding firefighter safety protections”, including uniform and equipment standards.
“Every time we resolved one issue, the government raised another. It became increasingly clear they were more interested in delaying the firefighters’ campaign than reaching an agreement,” Marshall said.
The UFU said it is fighting for improvements to minimum staffing, classification structures, rostering, dispute resolution, and consultation over safety and equipment. “Paul Edbrooke is a former firefighter. He knows why these protections exist,” Marshall said. “Minimum staffing is not a bargaining chip. It is fundamental to firefighter safety and protecting the Victorian community.
“Firefighters have endured years without a general pay rise, ageing fire trucks and ongoing resource shortages. Now this government wants to undermine the conditions that keep them safe. Premier Carroll and minister Edbrooke cannot claim to support firefighters while seeking to gut their safety protections.
“Firefighters will not stand by while decades of hard-won conditions are stripped away. We will take this fight directly to the government.”
The UFU and Fire Rescue Victoria reached an in-principle agreement for corporate staff earlier this month.
Paul Edbrooke was contacted for comment.
First published in the Frankston Time – 20 October 2026