Melbourne's firefighters have won a legal fight against restrictions on ... - ABC Local

Updated July 18, 2013 08:13:30

Melbourne firefighters will be given unrestricted access to the internet during their shifts after their union won a legal battle at the Fair Work Commission.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) had attempted to limit firefighters' internet use to 60 minutes a day.

The United Firefighters Union's Peter Marshall says the Commission found the MFB had failed to adequately consult staff about the ban.

Mr Marshall says the restriction was about saving money.

"It's only in the context of the budget cuts from the Napthine Government that we're seeing these artificial restrictions being put in place," he said.

"They made no sense, they certainly weren't about community safety, so you can only draw the conclusion it was part of the budget cuts."

He says firefighters need access to the internet for work.

"MFB sought to trivialise the matter by saying it was about Facebook and Twitter, when it certainly was not," Mr Marshall said.

"This was about critical updates in relation to community safety."

Topics: industrial-relations, fires, unions, melbourne-3000

First posted July 18, 2013 08:11:05