The Fire Brigades Union has formally responded to the government’s fire and rescue white paper, describing it as a coordinated attack on pay and conditions.
In its consultation response submission, released publicly today, the union criticises a range of elements to what it terms a coordinated attack on firefighters’ pay and conditions and the fire and rescue service, in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
These elements include an attack on firefighters’ right to have a say on their pay and conditions, including many conditions relating to safety, and proposals that could result in industrial action, a last resort to protect the fire service and firefighters’ pay and conditions, being weakened or undermined.
The white paper’s attacks on the fire and rescue service more broadly consists of matters including a lack of any direct plans or resources to improve the service the public receives, together with plans to boost chief fire officer powers. This could include over areas that have a direct effect on the service the public receives such as reducing the number of firefighters, how quickly fires are responded to, reducing night cover and shift systems.
Next week firefighters will visit parliament to lobby MPs to stop the government removing their voice, and to protect their pay and conditions, with many more set to follow during the course of this campaign.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said:
“It is absolutely scandalous that the government has launched this coordinated attack on the pay and conditions of hard-working firefighters, and on the fire and rescue service itself. Apparently it is not enough that firefighters, like everyone else, are going through a cost of living crisis ultimately of the government’s making. Instead, the government thinks that now is the right moment to try and strip them of hard-won rights that protect their pay and conditions. We have firefighters struggling to pay bills and pay the mortgage. These changes would only make things worse for them.”
“Firefighters go to work to save lives. They risk their health, safety and sometimes their own lives in doing so. The very least they deserve is to be free from coordinated attacks on their livelihoods and safety, and to be paid properly and treated fairly.
“When it comes to the fire and rescue service itself we are clear. Chief fire officers cannot be trusted to get it right on their own, especially on vital matters such as how quickly we respond to fires and the number of firefighters in each service. Debacles such as chief fire officers standing by whilst deep cuts were made to their services, and wasting millions of pounds of public money on equipment that didn’t work or wasn’t suitable, show that to be the case. More power for them over matters like the number of firefighters, attendance times or night cover will make the public’s fire and rescue service worse – the evidence on that is absolutely clear.”
The attack on firefighters’ right to have a say on their terms and conditions comes in the form of a proposed review which will very likely consider replacing collective bargaining in the fire and rescue service with a pay review body, a process by which ministers ultimately unilaterally decide pay.
The white paper also proposes the transfer of fire and rescue service governance to a single figure. This could involve Police and Crime Commissioners taking over fire and rescue services, or alternatively a mayor or a single councillor. The union is of the view that this is less democratic than a council structure as a whole governing fire and rescue, and that the scrutiny proposals in relation to these single figure structures are not strong enough.
You can find information and comment on the following attacks on firefighters and the fire service in the Fire Brigades Union’s consultation response:
- Collective bargaining, the National Joint Council (the fire service collective bargaining machinery), and the Grey Book (the book of firefighters’ pay and conditions, agreed within the NJC framework) – pages 2-4 (section entitled Threat to firefighters’ pay and conditions – the National Joint Council (NJC) to that entitled The benefits of collective bargaining)
- The right to take industrial action – pages 4 (The right to take industrial action) to 5 (Business continuity)
- Fire and rescue governance – pages 9 (Governance) to 10 (Police and crime commissioners)
- Operational independence (relates to chief fire officers’ powers) – page 6 (Operational independence)
Photo credit: Eddie Howland
