Fire-fighters dispute settled
The employers and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have reached a final agreement on fire-fighters’ pay and conditions.
The long running dispute, which has seen strikes, threats of strikes and troops deployed, now appears to have finally come to an end.
After a short meeting today the FBU announced that it would be calling off its planned strike ballot.
Negotiations to end the dispute – that has lasted for almost two years – broke down at the beginning of August over bank holiday pay and working conditions. Employers had been demanding that fire-fighters work a normal day on bank holidays, whilst the FBU had demanded that bank holidays be treated as exceptional working days.
At the time, the FBU accused the Government of “wrecking” the deal.
Following the intervention of Brendan Barber, the TUC’s general secretary, both sides managed to agree a compromise. Fire-fighters will continue to receive double time payment and time off in lieu, but they will under take some work, in addition to emergency responses, on public holidays but “these arrangements shall be the subject of consultation between the fire and rescue authority and recognised trade unions.”
Further details of the negotiations are expected to be released later, but the agreement opens up the way for the 3.5 and 4.2 per cent pay rises to be paid immediately. These will be backdated to November and July respectively.
In an open letter to FBU members, assistant general secretary Mike Fordham, defended the union’s conduct over the negotiation period, saying: “The union has acted honestly, openly and with integrity, at all times. We must not be na ve and must be prepared for further attacks by those who wanted to provoke a confrontation this time. We must rise to their challenge in the future, but at the same time, put the dispute behind us and move on to ensure the Fire and Rescue Service remains one of the most successful public services in the U.K.”
The Local Government Association (LGA), who have negotiated on behalf of the employers, welcomed the resolution of the dispute. In a statement, it said: “Today’s agreement signals the beginning of a new era for the UK’s fire and rescue service. Significant pay increases for staff have been delivered in exchange for service improvement that will deliver a more appropriate, better-resourced and inclusive service focused on preventing loss of life.
“Improvement has been long overdue. An inflexible national standard of fire cover that had been in place since the 1940s no longer delivered a service to the public that was appropriate to the changing needs of the 21st century.
“The LGA hopes that today’s agreement will result in a service that not only provides 24-hour intervention to a range of emergencies, but is equally focused on the need to develop ways of working that better prevent incidents in the first place.”
