Retained Pensions legal Battle continues
The FBU’s seven-year battle in the courts to end discrimination against firefighters working the retained duty system (RDS) over pensions and other benefits continues after an Employment Tribunal hearing took place last week in Croydon.
The move follows a landmark legal judgment by the House of Lords on 1 March 2006 in favour of the Union.
The Union has praised the quality of the evidence provided by fire service personnel in court and remains confident and determined to win through.
Secretary to the National Retained Committee, Pete Preston, attended the employment tribunal.
He said: “All those who gave evidence – from frontline firefighters to senior managers - did extremely well in what is a highly complex legal case. They faced tough cross-examination. The quality of evidence provided was very high.
“Professional RDS firefighters are the backbone of the fire and rescue service in many parts of the country and it is absolutely disgraceful that they should be denied equal treatment. We will fight this case for justice for RDS firefighters all the way.”
FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack added:
“This is old-fashioned discrimination of thousands of firefighters. It has no place in the modern fire service and the FBU intends to bring it to an end.
“The FBU is confident we have a strong legal case and we are determined to win.”
The tribunal considered 12 test cases from a total of 12,000 lodged at tribunal in 2000 on behalf of firefighters working retained duty across the UK. Any judgment applies to all 12,000 FBU members working retained duty in all fire brigades in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.
A judgement in this highly complex case is expected in the Spring next year.
Another member falls foul of new guidance on ill-health pensions
Mark Padgett, a retained duty system firefighter at Edwinstowe fire station, North Nottinghamshire, is the latest member to fall foul of the change in ill-health pension guidance after being seriously assaulted at an incident by a member of the public that resulted in him losing his main employment.
Nottinghamshire fire and rescue service has informed Mark Padgett that he will be sacked from the Fire Service if a medical says he’s too sick to continue working as a fire fighter, saying it can’t find him another role to perform.
He will not receive the pension to which he was entitled until September 2006, when the Government suddenly issued new guidance.
As a result of this change, three firefighters in London who were injured at work have already been denied a pension, on top of having their job taken away, losing everything.
Says FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack:
“The whole matter is a disgrace. Firefighters who come under attacks such as this should not be left out in the cold when they are injured protecting their communities;
“It is callous in the extreme to place individuals in this position. “
Government must withdraw guidance
“We want the Government to withdraw their new guidance which is causing all the problems, but we are also taking legal action to try and block the guidance.
“We are campaigning to have the proper status of our pension schemes restored so that firefighters seriously injured on duty can either receive a pension or perform other duties. They must not be left with nothing.
“It is horrendously unfair treatment of firefighters, who are there to protect the public in times of their greatest need.
“Praise is often liberally dispensed about the sterling and unselfish acts firefighters perform, seldom though do we see that praise reflected in the treatment of firefighters.”
Left high and dry
He added: “Danger comes to firefighters in many forms during the course of a firefighter’s duties and to be left high and dry is totally unacceptable.
“I am certain that is the view of the public we serve and we demand the Government withdraw the guidance that is causing the problems.”
Cornish fire crews: stop wasting time and money, give public safety priority public demands
Cornish fire crews have called on the County Council to give higher priority to public safety when making a decision over proposed cuts to the fire service. Cornwall FBU says the solution will be found in Cornwall, not in trips to London.
The County Council has refused to shelve plans for major cuts to the fire service. The county’s fire crews say the cuts will increase risk and reduce their ability to respond to all 999 incidents.
Under the proposals, 35 wholetime firefighter posts would be lost – one in six of the wholetime workforce of 206. Night time cuts at Camborne and Falmouth fire stations would mean that between 6pm and 8am the fire service would take longer to get to 999 incidents. If the cuts go through Cornwall would be the only county in England without any around the clock immediate response fire crews. There is already a shortage of fire crews in the County.
Terry Nottle Cornwall FBU brigade secretary said: “Public protection needs to be given a much higher priority than it has at the moment. We are now an all-round emergency response service and our work is growing every year. These cuts will damage our ability to respond to all 999 emergencies and county councillors need to understand that. We’re not just here to save lives in fires but to protect our natural and historical heritage from everything that mankind and nature throws at us.
“They have to stop wasting money on things the public don’t want and start spending it on things like the fire and rescue service that the public does want. Councillors must stop rushing off to London looking for a solution and realise the solution lies in Cornwall.
“We want no more wasting time or wasting money on trips to London. No more trying to blame everyone else or passing the buck. Cornwall’s fire crews and public have spoken loud and clear.
Public protection and public safety are a clear priority and these plans must now be binned.”
Progress on fire safety for sub-surface railway stations
Progress in discussions aimed at formulating the best-possible fire-safety regime for sub-surface railway stations was welcomed by government and unions on 17 November, the eve of the 20th anniversary of the 1987 King’s Cross fire that claimed 31 lives.
Fruitful discussions have been taking place on finding the best balance between the 2005 Fire Safety Order and the 1989 ‘Section 12’ regulations introduced in the wake of the fire.
Fire Minister Parmjit Dhanda said: “The 20th anniversary of the tragic Kings Cross fire provides a timely reminder of the crucial importance of fire safety. It is important, therefore, to keep legislation under review to ensure it affords the highest levels of protection for the travelling public. Government is committed to working with all stakeholders to achieve this goal.”
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “The discussions have been highly productive and positive, and I am confident that we can reach a balance that maintains rigorous fire protection. As we pause to pay our respects to those who lost their lives and suffered injury and trauma at King’s Cross it is timely to remind ourselves that we must use the lessons of the past to ensure the best possible fire safety in the future.
Protecting workforce, public, fire crews
FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “This is about protecting the workforce, the public and fire crews. We’re working to ensure the best possible protection in the event of emergency incidents, the public need to be confident we will get this right."
The 1989 Regulations were made under Section 12 of the Fire Precautions Act 1971, and were added on the recommendation of the Fennell Report into the 1987 King’s Cross fire. They cover ‘sub-surface stations’ throughout Britain, including those on underground systems in Glasgow, Tyne and Wear and London, but also national rail stations which are ‘sub-surface’, including Birmingham New Street and several in Liverpool. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, was introduced alongside the Section 12 regulations.
Since then, discussions have been taking place on what balance should be struck between the Fire Safety Order and the Section 12 regulations.
FBU member and wife win compensation after e-coli wrecks dream holiday
An FBU member and his wife, who contracted e-coli while on a dream holiday in the Dominican Republic, have been paid compensation by tour operator Thomas Cook thanks to support from the FBU and Thompsons Solicitors.
Paul Johnston and his wife Julie, both aged 48, from Sunderland contracted the gastro-intestinal illness within a few days of arriving at the all-inclusive Bahia Principe Resort. The outbreak in the resort also left many other holidaymakers suffering from serious gastric illnesses. Mrs Johnston was diagnosed with shigella sonnei - a strain of E. coli which causes diarrhoea, fever, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Paul Johnston brought his claim for compensation with the support of the FBU and Thompsons Solicitors. As a result, Thomas Cook has been forced to pay the couple £7,000 damages. Julie Johnston said:
“There was no doubting who was responsible for our illness. As we were staying on an all inclusive basis and because the hotel was basically in the middle of nowhere, we ate all our meals on site and drank only fluids that were again provided on site.
“We’re so relieved that Paul’s union membership covers accidents abroad.”
General Secretary Matt Wrack said:
“We are very pleased with the compensation secured for our member Paul Johnston and his wife Julie. The couple paid over £1,400 for a long-awaited holiday which was wrecked by e coli, and both continued to suffer long after they returned to the UK.”
Justice for Colombia
Justice for Colombia are aiming to get 10,000 signatures for a petition to suspend military aid to the Colombian armed forces until their human rights record improves.
Visit the 10 Downing Street website and add your support. Colombia remains the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists, with 84 activists having been murdered last year, and the FBU supports the campaign to freeze military aid until the murders end. Just go to http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Colombia/
Want to keep up to date on JFC campaigns in defence of trade union and human rights in Colombia? Visit http://www.justiceforcolombia.org look for “Get JFC e-bulletins” on the home page, and sign up to their e-bulletins.
Palestine Lobby of Parliament – November 28
FBU-affiliated organisation Palestine Solidarity Campaign is organising a lobby of Parliament on 28 November, 2–6pm. At 7pm, there will also be a meeting in Committee Room 10, House of Commons.
A lobby briefing pack is available online at: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/upload/pdf/Lobby-Pack-Nov2007.pdf
The pack includes a feedback form to fill in after you have seen your MP. Anyone lobbying their MP in their constituency should also fill this in and make sure to send it back to PSC. Once collated, the feedback will be circulated to the participating organisations.
PSC is campaigning for an end to 40 years of occupation and a just settlement for Palestinians as the only way to achieve peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.
More info:
Tel: 020 7700 6192.
Email: info@palestinecampaign.org
Website: www.palestinecampaign.org
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