After three weeks of voting, the Fire Brigade Union’s (FBU) pay consultation closed at noon today, 8th April. The FBU held a consultative ballot asking firefighters to consider both a pay proposal from fire service employers and the union’s strategy in pay negotiations.
The results will be released on Thursday, following a meeting of the FBU’s executive council. Local and regional officials will consider whether to hold discussion meetings to assess the results in advance of FBU conference in May.
The union’s executive council recommended that firefighters reject the pay proposal, which offered open-ended role expansion in return for a small increase in pay that did not have the approval of central government and thus could not be guaranteed.
Members were also asked to re-endorse the union’s strategy of reigning in local role-expansion through national negotiation. The FBU’s executive council recommended that members vote “yes” to both questions.
Speaking at the announcement of the ballot, Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “It is unacceptable to expect firefighters to agree to this list of dreamed up responsibilities.”
“We are open to discussion about the role firefighters undertake – as we always have been. However, no trade union could recommend that their members sign up to a contract with complete flexibility at the employers’ discretion”
The results will now be independently scrutinised by the polling firm Popularis, in advance of the release on Thursday.
