WA firefighters union rejects latest pay offer, warns negotiation situation has become ‘catastrophic’

WA’s career firefighters’ union has rejected a second new pay offer from the Cook Government, saying the negotiations situation is becoming “catastrophic”. The United Professional Firefighters Union of Western Australia voted on Wednesday to reject the second offer of the 2025 Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, which would have seen a modest pay rise. While union boss UPFUOWA secretary John Marsh said the union were not wanting to strike, he confirmed union bosses would be meeting soon to discuss what action to take, arguing a “line in the sand” has to be drawn. According to the union, more than 90 per cent of its nearly 1200 voting members voted to reject the offer, with just nine per cent backing it. According to a Cook Government spokesperson it was negotiating in good faith and had offered base pay increases of 5 per cent, 4 per cent and 3.75 per cent over the three-year term of the agreement. At the centre of concerns is the pay rise, the union is demanding a $2 an hour raise for senior firefighters. They also want better health and safety rules to protect workers along with the establishment of a work value assessment which would allow for more understanding of pressures and needs in the sector. Mr Marsh said he wanted to see the Government come to the table with a better offer. “We’re firefighters, we look at the best and the worst case scenario of any incident that we go to and that’s what we’ve been presented with,” he said. “Right now we’re looking at an incident that looks catastrophic, but we’ve got to try and take the good out of it as we can.” Mr Marsh said striking was hard for firefighters given the nature of their work, but eventually a “line in the sand” would need to be drawn. “We aren’t like every other public sector worker who can just go on strike, so we have to be quite strategic about what we do next and sadly we don’t necessarily want that to be aired through the through to the public,” he said. “I don’t want them to think that they’re at risk at any stage, whether they’re driving on the roads, whether they’re at home or whether they’re at work, I just don’t want that. “Our members are aware of that, but they also realise that at some point there has to be a line in the sand that says we are not going to keep fronting up for free.” State Government spokesperson said negotiating was happening in good faith. “The total value of financial improvements results in a pay increase of more than $17,000 for a Senior Firefighter over the three-year term. That’s an immediate uplift of $154.60 per week upon registration of the agreement or a $336.50 per week increase by mid-2027. “It is disappointing that despite this commitment, the UPFU made several disparaging comments about the offer in the lead up to its membership ballot.” Roger Cook reiterated the point, saying he wanted to see a swift conclusion to negotiations. “We’re continuing to talk with the firefighters union and their members in an open and good faith manner, we believe we’ve put a fair proposal to them and we are working with them, and under the guidance of the WA Industrial Relations Commission, to reach an outcome which they believe, all parties believe, is fair,” he said. In October, around 500 firefighters and family members took to the streets of Perth’s CBD to put pressure on the Government to present a better offer. Discussions over a new enterprise bargaining agreement has been ongoing since October last year and was delayed by the State election, with further delays in talks frustrating the union. Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said time was of the essence for the Government to get an approriate pay deal across the line. “I say to the State Government, these people perform vital work, we all rely on them, make the offer on the table, one that matches expectations and get this job done,” he said.