The United Firefighters Union's "extremely unusual" demand for $1.6 million in state funding is unlikely to be met, as the Victorian fireys' pay dispute drags into another year.
The UFU demanded the money while also announcing a rally at state parliament on January 19 to complain about the unresolved pay deal and broken promises.
"Additionally, pre-election and post-election commitments have not been delivered," the UFU's first bulletin to members for 2017 says.
Acting premier and Emergency Services Minister James Merlino says it's up to the Country Fire Authority to decide on the funding request.
"I would say that a statutory authority to provide funding would be extremely unusual and I wouldn't expect that to be the case," he said on Thursday.
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It is understood the CFA will not agree to the funding.
Mr Merlino insisted the only promise made to the union was to resolve the pay dispute.
That had been done but then the federal government stepped in and made changes to the Fair Work Act, he said.
UFU secretary Peter Marshall says the union should get the same funding Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria gets as the VFBV is "acting as an industrial body" and performing industrial advocacy in its EBA disputes.
"Why should career firefighters, who are being dragged into these disputes by the VFBV, be forced to pay excessive legal expenses whilst the VFBV are given a free ride, at the taxpayers' expense," he says in a statement.
Mr Marshall declined to comment further to AAP.
The CFA on Thursday said it was seeking an urgent conference at the Fair Work Commission because negotiating their outstanding issues was more appropriate than industrial action.
Opposition emergency services spokesman Brad Battin told reporters the union's money grab was ridiculous.
"I've never heard in the past where a union asks for state money. And this is the arrogance of Peter Marshall who think's he's got control over Daniel Andrews," he said.
"There must have been a deal before the election for him to continue to ask for things that are just ridiculous."
Changes to the Fair Work Act to protect volunteer organisations did not make the VFBV a "psuedo-union", so to blame the Fair Work Act changes for the delays in reaching agreements was ignorant, Mr Battin said.
