Australian firefighters to boycott Montreal police and fire games

Thousands of Australian firefighters will boycottthe annual World Police and Fire Games in Montreal next year due to anongoing dispute between the city and its firefighters over pension reform.

Montreal firefighters are also boycotting the games and their unionhas appealed totheir international colleagues to do the same.

• Firefighters boycotting 2017 World Firefighters Games in Montreal
• Bill 3, Quebec's controversial pension reform, passes into law

On Thursday, the union issued a news release stating itsappeal was heard by 6,200 firefighters in New South Wales, who have vowed to boycott the games.

The Fire Brigade Employees' Union in Sidney, Australia, and the Fire and Rescue New South Wales Sports Association, are also in favour of the boycott, the union says.

"This major international support shows the extent to which the unfair treatment of municipal employees and firefighters in particular is helping tarnish the image of the Quebec government and the City of Montreal even at the other end of the planet," said union president Ronald Martin.

Union spokesman Chris Ross told CBC Montreal Thursday thatMontreal firefighters would be happy to see the games cancelled.

"We don't believe Montreal warrants holding the games,soif the games were cancelled completely, we certainly wouldn't have a problem with that," he said.

"Whether the games are held or not, it's certainly not something that interests us," he said.

Originally, around 12,000 firefighters from 70 different countries were expected at the games, but the union says it expects only a few thousand will come.

Montrealfirefighters are protesting changes to their pension thatbecame law in 2014. The law forces municipal workers to pay more into their pensions.