The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has hit back at Labour leader contender Owen Smith’s latest attack on Jeremy Corbyn, deeming his attempt to win the title champion of workers’ rights as ‘a welcome conversion’.
At his first rally as hopeful Labour Party leader, Smith declared Corbyn not ‘bold enough’ to be a defender of working peoples’ rights, at the time claiming he alone could be the working peoples’ champion by setting out plans to scrap zero hours contracts and axe the Trade Union Act. He has also pledged to have workers’ representatives on pay committees. Last year, Corbyn laid out plans to outlaw zero hour contracts that would also force bosses to give employees a minimum number of hours of work each week.
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “We welcome Owen Smith’s decision to speak out for working people, but this damascene conversion must be greeted with caution given that just one year ago he supported the public sector pay freeze, which is now affecting our firefighter members for the seventh consecutive year.
“Jeremy Corbyn has been supporting the trade union movement all his political life and has a well catalogued history of putting working people first. He has supported firefighters for decades, and he cares deeply about protecting the pay and conditions of all working people. It’s not just a gimmick to help him get re-elected as Labour leader, and the public know this – they’re not fools. If Owen Smith wants to gain ground in the leadership contest, he needs to be a bit more original than this.”
