The FBU has expressed disappointment with the most recent State of Fire and Rescue annual report, which, it said, continues an “ill-judged commitment” to the white paper Reforming Our Fire and Rescue Service, published by the Home Office in May last year.
The report by the new chief inspector of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) former senior police officer Andy Cooke, endorsed the attack on firefighters’ right to organise in the white paper.
The union said it had hoped that the new leadership would abandon the white paper “that seeks to give chief fire officers a free hand to instruct the workforce, ignoring their contracts of employment and conditions of service”.
These “reforms” are aimed at undermining the FBU, despite the vast majority of firefighters choosing to be members, the union said:
“HMICFRS has chosen not to listen to rank and file firefighters. The FBU urges Mr. Cooke to map his own course to achieve what we all want: a properly funded fire service that includes decent resources and fair pay for firefighters.”
The FBU said Cooke did not recognise that fire services are falling short of response standards they themselves had set and that the speed of response times is a “postcode lottery”.
Despite a correct diagnosis, the chief inspector had not prescribed the correct course of treatment – national standards.
“Neither does the report address more than a decade of central funding cuts, 11,500 firefighter posts lost and years of pay cuts,” the FBU said.
HMICFRS also released its “tranche 3” report that covers 16 services.
Each inspection assesses how effective and efficient the service is, how it protects the public against fires and other emergencies and how it responds to them.
The inspections also assess how well services look after the people who work in them.
The FBU is studying these and has recommended local officials and members do the same for reports on their services. They are available at bit.ly/FRS-tranche3
