Dear Brother/Sister

DEFEND CONTROL JOBS

For a considerable time now the FBU has exposed the failings of the Government’s plans to regionalise Emergency Fire Controls in England.  We have highlighted the escalating costs and the flawed thinking behind the plans.  Despite this campaigning, the Government has appeared determined to proceed.

The latest disgraceful development in this saga relates to Fire and Rescue Authorities within the South West region. Each of these Authorities has written to the Union giving advance notice of the possibility of redundancies among Control Staff. This was done without any prior discussion or consultation with local Union officials or with the staff concerned.

This is an issue which affects every single member of the Fire Brigades Union. We cannot and will not stand by and allow a section of our membership be treated like this. The Union has a long-standing and entirely correct opposition to redundancies.  The task facing all of us now is to build a campaign to defend the jobs under threat.

As a result of these developments we will be allocating additional resources to this campaign. The issue will also now be one of the central debates at the Union’s Conference next week. The Executive Council will consult fully with Regional Committees and with the Control Staff National Committee in developing a strategy to fight this latest attack.

In the meantime I urge every single Branch to begin to discuss the likely need for industrial action to defend our members’ jobs.

An injury to one is an injury to all.

Best wishes.

MATT WRACK