VFBV

New Closing Date 18 December

The Independent Equity and Diversity Review into CFA and MFB has been extended. Members now have the opportunity to take part in this review until 18 December 2016, and VFBV encourages all members to consider contributing to the review. Links to the electronic survey is below.

Over the past five months, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) have been conducting surveys, focus groups and interviews that look at our workplace culture and the experience of discrimination (including bullying) and sexual harassment among CFA and MFB members.

The review team has seen high levels of engagement and have extended their site visits and survey deadline to ensure they speak to as many members as possible about their experiences.

VFBV has been working closely with and actively assisting VEOHRC in their work, by supporting our members to participate and also by facilitating VEOHRC’s attendance at a number District Council meetings and most recently, at State Council on 4.12.16. VFBV will continue to work with Districts and VEOHRC to ensure as many of our members across the State have the opportunity to participate and have their say in this important Review

CFA and MFB provide a crucial service to the community, and all members deserve a workplace that is safe, fair and respectful.

If you wish to participate, you can still do so confidentially and anonymously.

Complete the online survey, or request a paper copy by calling VEOHRC on (03) 9032 3464. 

You can also use the details below to write to VEOHRC or arrange a confidential interview or face-to-face meeting:

• Confidential phone line: (03) 9032 3464
• Confidential email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Website: www.victorianhumanrightscommission.com/EDR/

The VEOHRC review team will make recommendations to CFA and MFB based on their findings. Your participation will not be reported back to the either organisation, and VEORHC will not name individual people or work locations in the final report.

The final report is still due to be published in mid-2017.

By: Lucinda Nolan

Our workplace must be one free from bullying, harassment and discrimination.

And if you do experience any of these types of unreasonable behaviour, we want you to feel safe to report it.

If you believe you are experiencing bullying or harassment, you can now report this through our dedicated and independent hotline.

The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will be managed by an independent external team.

The hotline number is 1800 795 075.

All callers will be treated with dignity and respect – there will be no judgement about the information they are providing. Each call will be managed confidentially, with the consent of the caller helping to determine the way the report is best managed.

These complaints will then be referred to an external consultant who is a specialist in complaint and issues resolution. They will follow up with the caller within 72 hours of the initial complaint, and will assist in managing the case until a resolution is reached. The type of resolution chosen will vary depending on the nature of the complaint.

Complaints can also continue to be made directly to your direct manager.

This hotline is in addition to the range of support services and resources already available to help members manage their mental health and deal with difficulties when they arise. Information about these services can be found here.

We made the commitment to introduce the hotline following the release of the independent Fire Services Review.

In the past 12 months, 24 complaints of harassment and bullying in CFA have been formally lodged.

This is a relatively small number in an organisation of 57,000 but we are concerned that there may be under reporting of these issues.

As I have said before, I don’t believe harassment and bullying are widespread in CFA, but any type of this behaviour will not be tolerated.

I want to reiterate again that changing our culture will not be solved alone by initiatives and strategies. We all need to do our part.