Control

Firefighters and 999 emergency control staff in Essex are preparing for further strike action over huge cuts to frontline staff. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service plan to cut at least 179 full time firefighters working at frontline fire stations – more than a 25% reduction in the full time 999...

Essex fire service was plunged into chaos again after a failing IT system sent fire engines from all parts of the county out to imaginary incidents. The meltdown came just hours after fire chiefs were forced to fend off probing questions from councillors at a fire authority meeting over the endemic...

More incidents have been reported over the weekend of failings from the new ‘state of the art’ mobilising system used to get the right fire engine to the right incident with the correct information. Emergency responses have been delayed as the IT system has repeatedly failed to notify fire stations...

The April edition of the FBU members magazine Firefighter is now online featuring articles on the forthcoming general election and the recent march on parliament by firefighters. We also hear from the control staff taking action to defend their profession in Essex as well as Stevie McCrorie...

Emergency control staff from Essex were in parliament on budget day Wednesday lobbying MPs over anti-family working shifts whilst also highlighting public safety fears over failing IT mobilising systems. It coincided with the end of a nine day strike in Essex over an imposed work shift system which...

Emergency control staff will be in parliament on Wednesday to lobby their MPs over the continuing dispute in Essex about an imposed and untenable shift system. FBU control members in Essex have been on strike for the past week over staff being forced out of the workplace through the introduction of...

The strike by Essex emergency fire control staff, over an unworkable shift system change, has reached its seventh day. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service have imposed a radically different shift system on the professional control operators who are now forced to work 12 hour long shifts resulting...

Fire control operators in Essex will be on strike throughout mother’s day this Sunday in a dispute which has forced women and mothers out of the workplace. Essex Country Fire and Rescue Service imposed a radically changed shift system that means control operators are forced to work 12 hour shifts...

The catalogue of failures of the alleged state-of-the-art mobilising system in Essex fire control continues to grow. Amid the nine-day strike of professional 999 control staff, three separate incidents have been reported highlighting the on-going failures of the new IT system to get the correct...

Fire control operators in Essex have extended their strike action, over working conditions, to nine days now ending at 07:00 on Thursday 19th March. Originally taking place for 72 hours, the strike was extended to last eight days before another day’s strike was announced. This news comes the same...