To pass the stringent physical testing required of hopeful firefighters, Rachel Cowling hired a personal trainer who she worked with every day in the lead-up to her fitness assessment.
Cowling, who has now been a firefighter for 11 years, fears new recruitment selection criteria is about to be introduced by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) that would see women fast-tracked through the process in a bid to increase gender diversity.
The United Firefighters Union of Victoria fears changes are imminent after noticing the MFB had removed the recruit selection criteria from its website.
The union has filed a grievance with the Fair Work Commission to find out what changes to recruitment may be implemented, saying its members were not consulted. The MFB has not confirmed that it has made any changes to recruitment criteria.
“I met with a large number of female firefighters last night and the key message to come from that was we all want to be treated equally, we don’t want to be fast-tracked,” Cowling told Guardian Australia.
“I think if we can get more women into the fire service that would be fantastic, of course we want gender diversity. But it must be done the right way. Not a single colleague I’ve spoken to wants women to be treated differently to the men.
“We don’t want positive discrimination towards women.”
In a statement, the union said the MFB had failed to proactively recruit women “for decades”.
“The proposed changes could damage firefighters’ confidence – and impact on community and firefighter safety,” the union said.
“Firefighters support gender and cultural diversity but warn that political aspirations must not compromise the standards of one of the world’s great urban fire and rescue agencies.”
But MFB chief executive officer, Jim Higgins, said the standards required to become a recruit were not being lowered. If anything, they were being made tougher for all recruits, as the MFB was considering lowering the number of attempts male and female recruits had to pass each of the tests.
“Every single person who applies to the MFB to be a recruit will pass the same bar,” he said.
“No exceptions.
“We do intend to modify the process to make it better for applicants and to enable MFB to select recruits, once they pass the bar, based on organisational needs as well as performance. The fact they reach the final stage and pass the high bar we set means we will continue to appoint the best possible people for the job.”
Their website states: “The MFB is an equal opportunity employer, recruiting solely on the basis of relative ability, knowledge and skill. Females, people from non-English speaking backgrounds and Indigenous Australians are all encouraged to apply”.
Higgins told News Corp that less than 4% of the brigade were female.
The MFB will launch a new recruitment campaign on Monday.
The emergency services minister, Jane Garrett, said any suggestion that increasing workplace diversity in the fire brigade would lower standards “is a view that belongs in another century”.
“I would hope the UFU would work with all agencies to build an inclusive and diverse workforce,” she said.
“Emergency services should represent the community they serve. Clearly, with less than 4% women in firefighting roles, this doesn’t reflect our modern society.”
