The Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) is expected to reject a controversial new pay deal pushed by the Andrews government.

News Ltd reported that a meeting of the CFA board to vote on the draft deal, which includes handing over a number of powers to the United Firefighters Union (UFU), was likely to result in a resounding ‘no’.

Members of the CFA took to Melbourne’s streets at the weekend to protest the draft agreement, which reportedly includes allowing the union to replace volunteer staff with paid staff, and the mandatory presence of seven paid firefighters during operations.

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The agreement has not been released publicly.

New Ltd claimed Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who has supported the agreement, would be forced to either sack the CFA board if the deal is rejected, or else back down.

Currently, there are about 6000 CFA volunteers across Victoria, with many stations comprised solely of unpaid firefighters.

There has been speculation that if the agreement was to go ahead, it would cause a mass resignation across both volunteers and certain members of the board.

The deal has caused tension between the premier and his Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett, yet both were sure to emphasise that no deal had been decided on in parliament this week.

Mr Andrews wouldn’t rule out the possibility of moving Ms Garrett to another portfolio when quizzed by the opposition.

Both Mr Andrews and Ms Garrett promised the end result would be positive for both career firefighters and volunteers – a possibility that is looking less and less likely.