Employers condemn fire strike ballot
The Local Government Association (LGA) has hit out at the decision of the Fire Brigades Union to ballot for industrial action.
On Wednesday leaders of the FBU said that they would be balloting for industrial action within the next five weeks if there was no progress.
It is widely believed that the strike ballot date has been informally set for the 30th July.
Fire fighters claim that employers are showing no signs of paying them the 3.5 per cent pay rise agreed upon last summer as part of the deal to end the strike.
The LGA claims that: “Only a week ago the two sides were on the verge of an agreement. If the deal had been sealed this would have immediately released the outstanding 3.5 per cent, backdated to November 2003, into firefighters’ pay packets.”
Christina Jebb, who chairs the employers’ negotiation team, said: “It remains unclear exactly what the stumbling block is in the words that we proposed for working at night and on public holidays.
“After some very productive negotiations with the union the employers were ready to release the outstanding 3.5 per cent, backdated to November, to firefighters immediately both sides signed the agreement.
“A ballot for industrial action is not a wise or mature course for the union to follow. We urge firefighters to show their disapproval of this ill-considered decision and vote against industrial action in the ballot.”
The latest ballot for action comes after recent unofficial strike action up and down the country.
The unofficial action was sparked by the suspension of 19 fire fighters in Salford, whom allegedly refused to use the new anti-terror equipment as they had not received promised pay rises.
The FBU claim that fire fighters were also being asked to sign new, un-negotiated contracts.
Local authority representatives and the FBU had been in talks designed to resolve the outstanding issues and at the beginning of June the FBU leadership said they would be recommending a deal.
