Concerns about the use and possible contamination legacy of PFAS chemicals around Canberra and interstate continue to mount, with another article in the Canberra Times of 18 June 2018 … [Read more...]
Toxic fire fighting foams: a legacy of contamination at nine ACT fire stations ?
The Canberra Times of 11 June 2018 reports that according to government briefings from December 2017 "toxic fire fighting foams could have left a legacy of contamination at nine fire stations across the ACT as well as defence department and police facilities". The news article states that potentially-harmful polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which were "present in aqueous … [Read more...]
Signal 7 of 12 June 2018 re Ainslie Fire Station dispute
The 12 June 2018 edition of Signal 7 is now available and focuses on the Ainslie Fire Station dispute which has been referred to the Fair Work Commission for a conciliation conference 0n 25 July 2018. … [Read more...]
Ainslie Fire Station Dispute referred to Fair Work Commission
Following failed attempts to resolve UFU concerns about Ainslie Fire Station, the dispute has been referred to the Fair Work Commission. A conciliation conference has been scheduled for 25 July. Members are advised that: • Ainslie Fire Station is subject to a safety dispute; • Pending resolution of the dispute, the status quo provision of the enterprise agreement applies. … [Read more...]
UFU: ACT government budget for fire fighting ‘simply not good enough’
A report in the Canberra Times on 30 May 2018 quotes Greg McConville from the United Firefighters' Union (UFU) as saying the government’s plans for resourcing ACT Fire and Rescue were “simply not good enough”. That is, the budget allocations made by the ACT Government not good enough to fund the number of fire fighters needed for the growing city of Canberra and, while the … [Read more...]