Government

Our fight for decent pensions

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack looks back at the history of the FBU’s recent campaigns on firefighters’ pensions. Thousands of FBU members will soon start to receive injury to feelings payments as part of the FBU’s 2019 legal victory over pensions. These payments (£3,750 for the majority) are a...

Protect the right to strike at TUC 2023 c Mark Thomas

FBU calls on employers not to implement anti-strike laws

Fire employers are being urged by the FBU to guarantee that they will not implement the Westminster government’s latest anti-union laws. The Minimum Service Levels Act became law in July 2023. Regulations covering the fire and rescue service in England were passed by the House of Lords in March this...

Fire Brigades Union holds political fund ballot

02 Apr, 2024 By Alice Dann

The Fire Brigades Union’s political fund ballot is now live. Under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, trade unions cannot spend money on political objectives unless approved by a ballot every 10 years. Without a political fund, much of the FBU’s work would not be possible...

Anti-strike laws: some good news from Wales. Welsh Government response to minimum service levels

20 Mar, 2024

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Dear Brother/Sister, Anti-strike laws: some good news from Wales - Welsh Government response to minimum service levels The Welsh Government has responded to Westminster setting new ‘minimum service...

Fire union warns government of Grenfell-style risk over weak high-rise evacuation policy

13 Mar, 2024 By Alice Dann

The union representing the overwhelming majority of firefighters has slammed new government guidance on building evacuation, saying that failings have left residents vulnerable to further Grenfell-style tragedies. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommended in October 2019 that the government develop...

Fire union calls on employers to refuse to implement “authoritarian” strike ban

12 Mar, 2024 By Alice Dann

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has called on all fire service employers to refuse to implement the government’s new minimum service levels, condemning the legislation as a “draconian attempt to ban strikes”. In a letter sent to all fire service employers in England, the FBU has warned that...

Firefighters' leader blasts Tory Budget as 'final insult' to workers

06 Mar, 2024 By Alice Dann

Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack has blasted Jeremy Hunt's Budget as the "final insult" to firefighters and hard-pressed workers after nearly 15 years of Tory austerity. Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: There is nothing whatsoever for firefighters and other...

Fire union calls on Labour to back SNP motion on Gaza

21 Feb, 2024 By Alice Dann

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has today called on Labour to back the SNP motion in today’s House of Commons vote. The FBU is affiliated to the Labour Party. Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: Israel’s actions in Gaza are an act of collective punishment and break international...

Fire and Rescue Service Matters - still underfunded: fire and rescue central funding still lower than a decade ago

21 Feb, 2024

The fire and rescue service still needs sustained investment, despite the first above-inflation central funding increase for more than a decade.

Fire and Rescue Service Matters

Cuts leave scars campaign Scotland Oct 2023

Pay and pensions, fighting cuts, safety and DECON – it is all political

Political decisions shape our working lives. Every day, politicians at national and local levels make decisions that affect us all – in the fire and rescue service and beyond Core workplace issues such as health and safety, fairness and equality, pensions, compensation for death or injury, and...

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