You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you
POLITICAL FUND – VOTE YES
Since 2010, the Westminster government has pursued a ruthless attack on workers and the services they rely on. NHS waiting lists have tripled in a decade. Local councils have been hammered by cuts.
In the fire service, one in five firefighter jobs has been lost, stations have been closed and appliances taken off the run. Progress on equalities has stalled, and democratic accountability undermined.
Ministers prioritised the profits of developers over building safety; the result was the Grenfell Tower fire. Now they are going to try to ban strike action in the fire service. The daily life of firefighters and control room staff is shaped by the decisions of politicians.
This issue of Firefighter magazine is largely dedicated to the political fund ballot, which we are obliged to run every 10 years if we want to undertake lobbying and political campaigning. Ballots will land at your home address in time for the voting to take place in April.
Please make sure you vote yes, and encourage your colleagues to do the same.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
On 7 February, we published an independent report into sexual harassment in the FBU. Its headline finding is sobering: three in 10 women in the FBU have experienced sexual harassment in a union context.
The FBU stands on the side of the victims of this behaviour, as we stand on the side of everyone facing discrimination and oppression.
We commissioned the independent report because we were determined to find the unvarnished truth, and now we must root the problem out.
The executive council has approved an “initial action plan” on the subject, and a full action plan is expected by the summer. We report in detail on the matter on page 4.
ATTEMPTED STRIKE BAN
A few days before we went to print, the Westminster government announced the regulations for the fire and rescue service under the Minimum Service Levels Act.
As expected, they amount to an attempted strike ban for firefighters and control staff in England.
But there is plenty of room for resistance and repeal. Employers can be pressured not to issue work notices, and Labour has pledged to get rid of the new law. Read page 7 for more details.
PAY
The two-year pay deal negotiated as part of our Fair Pay or Fire Strike campaign will expire in July this year. We have taken steps to move forward urgently with negotiations and wrote to employers in December. It is early days, but we anticipate that discussions will begin soon, and members will be updated as soon as there is news.
We also hope to be able to report soon on the outcome of NJC working groups on CPD, retained and control pay.
MINERS’ STRIKE
6 March 2024 will mark 40 years since the start of the 1984 miners’ strike – one of the most heroic and important struggles in the history of the labour movement. We commemorate it in this issue on page 14.
