At our annual conference in May, more than 100 delegates came together to debate the FBU’s campaigns and activities for the coming year. It was a lively event, on which we report in detail in this issue.
Most prominent was the launch of a new flagship campaign – Equality Matters – to fight for equality in the fire and rescue service.
A number of reports in the past year have set out the widespread discrimination, bullying and abuse in the service. This is not a new issue, and FBU reps have for many years represented firefighters on the receiving end of this treatment.
Being a firefighter is about teamwork, solidarity and having each others’ backs. Dealing with these issues is a matter of basic health and safety in the workplace, and a moral duty of our union.
Firefighters have the right to work without being mistreated because of their gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability or neurodiversity – or bullied or abused while doing their job.
The government and chief fire officers have systematically failed to address equalities.
At conference, we set out our plan to lead the transformation of the service, and unveiled a set of posters and other materials which will soon make their way into stations.
We will now be drawing up our own set of standards and best practice and holding the sector to account.
GRENFELL SIX YEARS ON
Shortly before we went to print, we marked the sixth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire. The community is still waiting for answers. No one responsible has yet been held accountable.
The fire was a crime caused by decades of deregulation, privatisation and the prioritisation of profit over safety.
The FBU stands shoulder to shoulder with the bereaved, survivors and residents to demand justice and fight to ensure that this tragedy is never repeated.
SCOTLAND CUTS
The FBU is gearing up for a significant fight over cuts to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. As we report on page 4, the Scottish government has imposed a “flat-cash” (ie frozen) budget for five solid years, and this means a funding shortfall of £36m. Firefighters now face big cuts to frontline services, on top of a decade of austerity that saw more than 1,000 firefighter jobs axed north of the border.
But firefighters are mobilising, and we are building an alliance of workers, politicians and councils to fight back. With enough pressure, we can beat these cuts – but it will come down to the hard work of FBU activists. If you’re in Scotland, be one of them.
GOVERNMENT IN CRISIS
Recent weeks have seen yet another Tory civil war, and Boris Johnson has now resigned as an MP. But we cannot be complacent: this government is still a menace. It will use its remaining time to attack workers’ rights, civil liberties and migrants in an unprecedented way – and its Fire Service White Paper is still live. We must remain vigilant to these threats, and the FBU stands ready to fight.
