The Fire Brigades Union has warned that the crisis facing the county’s fire and rescue service will worsen following agreement by Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Authority (CFRA) to a plan to use private contractor Serco to provide cover for chronic firefighter shortages in the county.
A meeting of the CFRA last week heard that up to 18 fire engines can be unavailable at any one time due to staff shortages. The FBU say it is ‘beyond belief’ that privately contracted firefighters will be used, and say the measure is being taken to mask the real issues of recruitment and retention of frontline ‘on call’ firefighters – these are ‘retained’ firefighters who tend to have other jobs but who respond to emergencies promptly as they occur.
Cameron Matthews, brigade secretary for the FBU in Cambridgeshire, said: “We can’t get away from the fact that a private sector company’s primary drive is to make a profit for their shareholders. The fire service is not a cash cow for private investors - public safety must be the prime concern for the fire authority and its senior service managers.
“Our service has experienced difficulties recruiting and retaining our on-call firefighters because of the poor remuneration, low morale and inflexible working conditions following six years of consecutive government funding cuts and consequent attacks on firefighters’ conditions and pay. What is needed is a firm commitment to public safety, the protection of property and to our valuable on-call firefighters, not the employment of an outfit with a poor reputation such as Serco.
"Serco has been responsible for running prisons where violent disturbances and escapes have occurred. They have also been deemed responsible for ‘deteriorating’ healthcare in Suffolk. No-one wants them getting anywhere near the life-saving work of the fire and rescue service – the risks are just too great”, added Cameron Matthews.
When privatization of the fire and rescue service was being proposed in Cleveland by Eric Pickles MP, then secretary of state for communities and local government, he announced “Let me be absolutely clear. We will make no move, directly or indirectly, that involves the privatization of the fire service. It is not our intention, nor will we allow, private firms to run the fire service.”
And yet, say the FBU, CFRA are considering doing just that, with the added risk of turning to a disgraced private sector firm. The union has serious concerns that the move will backfire, deeming the plans ‘disastrous’ for Cambridgeshire communities.
