17 May 2013

TO:  ALL MEMBERS

Dear Brother / Sister

SICK LEAVE – TAKING OF ANNUAL LEAVE – NJC CIRCULAR NJC/03/13

Please find attached for your information, a copy of NJC/03/13, in relation to sick leave and the taking of annual leave.

Best wishes.

Yours fraternally

ANDY DARK

Assistant General Secretary

“It is not just the Fire Brigades Union warning about this. Increasingly others in the fire service, including Chief Officers, are concerned over our ability to deliver this essential service. Fire stations are being closed and fire engines are being axed. Last year alone a further 1,200 firefighter jobs were cut. All these cuts mean a poorer service for the public. They mean waiting longer for a fire engine if you have a fire or other emergency.
Ken Knight is attempting to bury all these facts in order to justify further cuts in the government’s forthcoming spending review.”

FURTHER INFORMATION:
Francis Beckett 07813 001372

17 May 2013

TO:          ALL MEMBERS

Dear Brother/Sister

FBU CONFERENCE UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTS EXECUTIVE COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON FIREFIGHTER PENSIONS

Delegates to FBU Conference discussed the Government’s proposals for firefighter pensions as part of a debate around the Executive Council’s Emergency Resolution (attached).

This Resolution outlines the Union’s key concerns which have still not been addressed.

Delegates unanimously agreed that the Executive Council should issue a revised lawful trade dispute demanding that Government ministers address the seven points outlined in the Resolution.

The FBU will be seeking a positive response to the issues raised in the trade dispute within 14 days.

Delegates recognised the current position of the pension campaign and unanimously gave authorisation to the Executive Council to commence a ballot for strike action.

Members will be receiving much more information in various forms over the next week or two and meetings will be scheduled to provide the most up-to-date position.

Please ensure you attend your meeting and that you are completely up to speed with the position.

Best wishes.

Yours fraternally

MATT WRACK

GENERAL SECRETARY

EMERGENCY RESOLUTION 3

PENSIONS

Conference congratulates FBU members for their determination in campaigning for decent pensions. Conference notes that despite numerous assurances, neither the Westminster government nor the relevant ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have addressed the concerns of firefighters in relation to pension arrangements. This was clearly confirmed when employee pension contributions were again increased in all parts of the UK from April 2013.

For more than two years the FBU has presented a detailed and professional case for pension arrangements which take account of the needs of firefighters and of an effective fire and rescue service. This has included evidence on matters of fitness and fitness standards; occupational health and safety; and on the affordability and sustainability of fire and rescue service schemes. At no point during discussions has any other party been able to challenge, answer or rebut the case we have made.

The FBU has made the case that a firefighters’ pension scheme, as an occupational scheme, must take account of the specific needs and demands of the occupation. Since firefighting is a physically demanding and hazardous occupation, the pension scheme must take account of this. The current arrangements proposed do not do so.

Conference notes that the currently proposed arrangements will lead to:

• Large numbers of firefighters facing the prospect of working longer and therefore facing the threat of capability dismissal as they age and as fitness levels decline with age. At that point significant numbers would face the prospect of no job and no pension.
• Increasing numbers of firefighters being unable to afford their pension scheme because of the high rates of employee contribution imposed.
• A threat to the sustainability of the 2015 pension scheme due to the imposition of an unrealistic cost ceiling which does not take account of the specific occupational needs of a fire and rescue service scheme.
• A significant worsening of the contribution ratio between employee and employer which unduly penalises firefighters.
• The undermining of the pension benefits of thousands of FBU members due to inadequate protection arrangements.
• A commutation rate which financially penalises firefighters because it does not in any way reflect the value of pension surrendered in the proposed firefighters’ pension scheme (2015).

Conference notes that the FBU has attempted at every stage to discuss these concerns with Ministers. Discussions continued over the weekend of 11 and 12 May 2013 which resulted in further clarification being available to the Executive Council for the meeting scheduled for 13 May 2013. However the proposals currently remain unfair, unaffordable, unsustainable and unworkable. They therefore remain unacceptable.

Conference does not accept a normal pension age (NPA) of 60 for firefighters. The FBU has fought a principled, evidence based campaign against its introduction. However, the Public Service Pensions Act is now in place. That does not mean that we will drop our opposition to the Act or accept that it is appropriate or safe to require our members to work to age 60. We will continue to campaign for the repeal of the Act as we are entitled to do and we will continue to make the case for a lower NPA. We will also campaign to ensure the effects of this legislation are reduced as far as possible.

In view of this, Conference instructs the Executive Council to immediately issue revised lawful trade disputes demanding that Government Ministers address the following:

• No further employee contribution increases
• An improved contribution ratio between employee and employer
• Improved protection arrangements for current scheme members
• Amendments to the scheme which remove the threat of: No Job and No Pension
• Flexible retirement from age 55 – with any pension adjustment arrangements agreed by the FBU
• Improved commutation (lump sum) arrangements which adequately reflect the value of pension surrendered
• A realistic cost ceiling which ensures that there are no reductions in member benefits.

Conference instructs the Executive Council to seek a positive response from Ministers to these concerns within 14 days.

Conference agrees that the FBU should remain ready to engage in genuine negotiations around the concerns we have raised and are willing to meet Ministers at any point with the aim of achieving improvements. Conference believes that as far as possible FBU members should have the same pension arrangements in all parts of the UK. Therefore, in order to ensure consistency and continuity, all negotiations will be led by the General Secretary and shall be reported at each stage to the Executive Council. This includes any discussion within any part of the UK.

In view of the position outlined above, Conference authorises the Executive Council to commence a ballot for strike action.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

The proposed changes are unworkable and not fit for purpose, the Fire Brigades Union conference decided today in a unanimous vote.

General secretary Matt Wrack said: “We still hope to avoid industrial action but we are determined to defend our pension rights. Genuine talks are still a real option and the ball is now firmly in government’s court to sort out the mess they have got themselves into.”

Mr Wrack will take a seven point plan to ministers.

He will ask for:

• No further contribution increases.
• An improved contribution ratio between employer and employee.
• Improved protection arrangements for current members of the pension scheme.
• Removing the threat of a firefighter losing out on a pension if there is no job for him or her.
• A flexible retirement from age 55.
• Improved lump sum arrangements.
• A realistic cost ceiling.

Mr Wrack told the conference:

“Government proposals are unfair and unjust.  The pension rights and responsibilities we signed up to are being taken away. Our members have paid their share but the government wants to take them away.”

He said the proposal to raise the retirement age from 55 to 60 “is completely unworkable and the government know it. It does not take into account the physical demands of firefighting.  The government’s own report demonstrates that a very high proportion of firefighters would not be able to reach the proposed pension age. Instead they would face the prospect of being dismissed on grounds of capability. That is completely unjust and is not good public policy.”

But the union wants to solve the issue by negotiation, not by industrial action, and the conference decided not to call a strike ballot immediately. Instead, it will submit its seven-point plan to ministers.

The resolution says that the FBU “will remain ready to engage in genuine negotiations around the concerns we have raised, and is willing to meet ministers at any point with the aim of achieving improvements.”

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Francis Beckett 020 8349 9194 or 07813 001372

14 May 2013

TO:  ALL MEMBERS

Dear Brother / Sister

AMENDMENT TO PART TIME WORKERS AGREEMENT – NJC CIRCULAR NJC/04/13

Please find attached, a copy of NJC/04/13, which gives details of an amendment to the Part Time Workers Agreement, the effect of which is to extend the reach and application of the Part Time Workers Agreement.

Measures to put this matter into effect will be put in hand, and notified to you shortly.

Best wishes.

Yours fraternally

ANDY DARK

Assistant General Secretary

14 May 2013

CIRCULAR NJC/4/13

Dear Sir/Madam,

PART-TIME WORKERS (PREVENTION OF LESS FAVOURABLE TREATMENT) REGULATIONS – FIRE BRIGADES UNION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

For information only

1. Authorities are aware that the matter of whether or not the above settlement agreement should apply to wholetime employees who were employed on the retained duty system during the reference period (1 July 2000 to 30 June 2010) has been the subject of continued discussion between the National Employers, Fire Brigades Union and respective legal advisers.
2. We write to advise you that at the last meeting of the National Joint Council agreement was reached to extend the terms of the agreement to individuals as described in paragraph 1 above, subject to an individual meeting the over-arching eligibility criteria and where such an individual remained employed by the same Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA), with no break in continuity.  In common with the terms of the original agreement, this will not apply to an ex-employee unless he/she had previously entered an Employment Tribunal claim.
3. The precise detail of this change to the settlement agreement is under consideration and a further detailed circular will be issued shortly.
4. Accordingly authorities can take no action in relation to preparing new offers for this group until such time as that circular is issued.

Yours faithfully

SIMON PANNELL

MATT WRACK

Joint Secretaries

13 May 2013

TO:  ALL MEMBERS

Dear Brother / Sister

AMENDMENT TO PART TIME WORKERS AGREEMENT – NJC CIRCULAR NJC/03/13

Please find attached, a copy of NJC/03/13, which gives details of an amendment to the Part Time Workers Agreement, the effect of which is to extend the reach and application of the Part Time Workers Agreement.

Measures to put this matter into effect will be put in hand, and notified to you shortly.

Best wishes.

Yours fraternally

ANDY DARK

Assistant General Secretary

AD/jh

The board has throughout its 40-year existence always had three trade union representatives. Earlier this year there was a vacancy for one of those seats. The TUC supported Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU. Instead, the government appointed someone else without any meaningful consultation with the TUC or any union bodies. They hand-picked a retired union general secretary who had not been nominated by a single union (even his own previous union).

Alan McLean, FBU president said: “The Fire Brigades Union were very pleased that our general secretary, Matt Wrack was asked to be the TUC nominee for the board of the HSE. Our members work in an industry which deals with safety issues every day and Matt could have brought that experience to the HSE for the benefit of all workers.

“The decision of the government not to appoint him suggests a serious weakening of any commitment to health and safety. Firefighters know very well that health and safety is not a matter for silly press stories – it is frequently a matter of life and death. The government’s decision further threatens the future of health and safety provision for workers in the UK.”

Contact:

Paul Hampton
07740403240

For more information contact:
Francis Beckett
07813001372

Paul Hampton
07740403240

9 May 2013

TO:          ALL MEMBERS (HOME ADDRESSES)

ALL MEMBERS

Dear Brother/Sister

Urgent: FBU conference to debate industrial action on pensions

Our pension campaign has been underway for more than two years. At every stage we have presented detailed, professional evidence supporting our case for occupational pensions which meet the needs of our profession. We have won that debate at every stage and no Government Minister anywhere has been able to answer our case. We have been patient and given them numerous opportunities to change their course.

Despite that, they are pressing ahead with proposals which will be unworkable, unaffordable, unsustainable and unfair. As recently as last month, Governments in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland imposed large increases in pension contributions with further increases planned – despite the detailed evidence we had presented to each of them.

They are obviously not listening to firefighters. They are ploughing on with their plans regardless of the professional advice of the FBU and others within the Fire and Rescue Service.

One thing is absolutely clear. The new scheme proposed for 2015 is currently unworkable; it is designed to fail. Current ‘protection’ arrangements are inadequate. In addition, the current proposals will mean thousands of members facing capability dismissal as they age and as fitness levels decline. Members who have paid into a pension scheme for many years will face the prospect of no job and no pension. That is unacceptable, unjust and insulting.

Situation in different parts of the UK

We met with the CLG Fire Minister (for England) and his team again today. Once again they were unable to answer our questions on a number of issues. They were unable to address the case we have presented. This is unacceptable at this stage. They were also unable to make any proposals which would address our needs and concerns.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland there have also been discussions with Ministers throughout the past few months. However, as in England there are no proposals whatsoever which would resolve our concerns on pensions

FBU Conference

The Executive Council will be reporting these matters in full to our Conference next week. Your delegates will need to consider these issues very carefully. It is clear that FBU Conference will now need to discuss the need for strike action to defend pension rights and to achieve pension arrangements which are affordable, sustainable and fair – pensions which address the specific needs of the Fire Service.

Please make sure that you follow these developments closely.

• A great deal of information is available on the FBU website.

• This includes a short film which is also available on YouTube (Hands Off Our Pensions).

• Following Conference there will be meetings locally to provide the latest information.

We remain very committed to real discussion anywhere and at any time. However, we are also committed to defending decent pensions within our Service.

Best wishes.

Yours fraternally

MATT WRACK

GENERAL SECRETARY

The release of the data came after the brigade received several requests for information about the impact of the cuts on response times across every council ward in London.

Until now, the mayor and brigade bosses had focused almost exclusively on how the cuts would affect the ‘average’ response time across the whole of London, claiming that this would increase by only 15 seconds for the arrival of the first fire engine at an incident and 16 seconds for the second fire engine.

However, when the figures are broken down into local wards, the picture tells a very different story, with response times in many areas significantly affected, even doubling in places where the local stations have been earmarked for closure. For example, residents of Clapham Town ward will see response times rise from 3 minutes 56 seconds to 7 minutes 53 seconds, while those living in Bow East will wait for 7 minutes 20 seconds, up from 4 minutes 9 seconds.

The number of wards which would find themselves outside of the brigade’s own targets for the arrival of the first and second engines (six and eight minutes respectively) would also rise by 40 to 267.

Paul Embery, FBU regional secretary for London said: “Now the cat is well and truly out of the bag. Under pressure, the brigade has been forced to publish figures which tell the true story. For all the talk of ‘average’ response times, it’s actual response times that count, and these stand to increase significantly in some areas as a result of the mayor’s cuts.

“In our service, seconds count. Those seconds are often the difference between life and death for people trapped in a fire. A fire quadruples in size every two minutes, and the human brain can survive for no more than a few minutes in a smoke-filled environment.

“These cuts will result in deaths and injuries which could otherwise have been avoided. In the light of this data, it is an insult to the intelligence for the mayor and brigade bosses to suggest otherwise.

“It is time now for them to come clean with Londoners about the real impact of these cuts, and to abandon their proposals in the interests of public safety.”

CONTACT:
Paul Embery 07854 998508