The Certification Officer – the body responsible for ensuring trade unions comply with their statutory obligations– has received a report from its investigator into the financial affairs of the Fire Brigades Union which it has published.
The report investigated a series of complaints made by former FBU officials which alleged that the union had made ‘secret’ payments to employees without the consent of the Executive Council.
The report concludes that the investigator could find “…no conclusive evidence that any of the matters referred to in section 37B (2) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (the 1992 Act) have occurred.”
The investigation also found that, contrary to the allegations made by the complainants she had seen no evidence of a culture of bullying at a senior level within the union.
The report sets out problems with the union’s rules and the lack of an agreed consensus of their meaning among EC Members and Full time Officials. The investigator also criticises weaknesses with the FBU’s record-keeping and concludes that the union is “troubled with factionalism” which has exacerbated these problems.
It argues: “…governance shortcomings appear to have amplified pre-existing disagreements within the Union. The effect has been to provide a catalyst for disputes that, in truth, appear to have as much to do with factionalism as with substantive concerns about financial irregularities.”
Mark Rowe, Fire Brigades Union national officer, said:
The FBU welcomes the publication of this report. It is the product of a thorough investigation which we have complied proactively from the start.
We are pleased that the report does not find any evidence of a breach of any statutory provision.
However, we accept the report outlines a series of issues relating to our internal governance which we must take very seriously. The quality of our record-keeping comes under particular scrutiny and the union will take immediate steps to act on this so that in future it will be able to demonstrate with immediate effect that it has complied with its own rules and statute.
The report also suggests that the FBU’s rules, and our collective understanding of rules in relation to matters such as delegated powers, are not fit for purpose. This is again something we will examine and look to act upon through a democratic process with the engagement of our Executive Council and wider membership. We recognise that we must improve and will take steps to ensure that we do.
