09-09-2005, 10:47 PM
1
Suffolk strikers hold firm
- Dispute is one of several flaring in UK fire service -
- June 2003 agreement to blame for strife, say critics -
s The Phoenix goes to press, Fire Brigades
Union members in Suffolk are engaged in
strike action against their employer over cuts
to frontline services. The Suffolk fire authority is
proposing to reduce the number of wholetime
firefighters by 7%, as well as downgrading an aerial
appliance to the effect that it will no longer be
available at certain times. The union says that the
cuts are cost-driven and will endanger the lives of the
local community. FBU members in Suffolk are taking
discontinuous action, with most strikes lasting no
more than a couple of hours. So far, says the FBU,
the support from the public has been “fantasticâ€.
Brigade chair, Vince Jell, said, “Members are sticking
together well throughout the action. We’ve got public
support, and we are getting backing from the union
across the country. This is a battle about defending
the service. More than anything else, it is important
that there is resistance to cuts going through on the
nod.â€
At a recent rally in Ipswich, FBU general secretary,
Matt Wrack, said that Suffolk members were “flying
the flag for the national FBUâ€, and that it was vital for
members across the country to give their support.
Disaster
The strikes in Suffolk represent the first such action
by FBU members since the end of the national pay
dispute. It is now widely accepted that the pay and
conditions agreement that settled the dispute has
proved to be a disaster for FBU members nationwide,
with fire service employers running amok with their
plans for reductions in fire cover and attacks to
conditions of service.
Disputes have flared up in several brigades since the
deal was signed. In London, FBU members have
taken industrial action in disputes over the
implementation of co-responding and pre-arranged
overtime; Lincolnshire and Merseyside FBU brigades
have won ballots for action on co-responding;
Somerset FBU members voted for industrial action in
a dispute about New Dimension; and threats of
changes to shifts have seen battles raging between
employers and the union in Nottinghamshire,
Derbyshire, Cheshire, West Midlands and South
Yorkshire.
he overwhelming victory on a very high
turnout for Matt Wrack over Andy Gilchrist in
the election for general secretary in May was
seen as a reflection of members’ disgruntlement with
the then union leadership.
Several on the union’s executive council are said to
be resisting the mood for change, whilst others
appear to have acknowledged that they must either
embrace the new Wrack-led regime or risk defeat
themselves at the ballot box. With the election for the
position of assistant general secretary currently
taking place and further elections for EC positions
and the union’s president due within the next year,
Wrack supporters sense an opportunity to really shift
the balance of power in their favour.
A
T
The
PHOENIX
A BULLETIN FOR THE GRASSROOTS OF THE UK FIRE SERVICE
FBU members on the march in Suffolk
Bulletin No. 8 – September 2005
2
FBU MEMBERS TO CHOOSE
NEW DEPUTY LEADER
BU members are set to go to the polls
to choose a new assistant general
secretary, following the departure of
Mike Fordham, who served for twenty-two
years as the union’s number two.
Union members across the country have
started receiving ballot forms. They will be
choosing between the London regional chair,
Andy Dark, and national officer Geoff Ellis.
An election for the position was originally held
in February, with Matt Wrack the victor over
national officer John McGhee. However,
Wrack never officially took up the role, as the
election for the union’s general secretary, in
which Wrack was a candidate and eventual
winner, began straight afterwards.
In his election statement, Dark, who has been
a close ally of Matt Wrack for over twenty
years, points out that he was the only
candidate to speak out against the June 2003
pay agreement, which has led to cuts in fire
cover and attacks to conditions of service. He
says that members must decide whether they
wish to continue the process of change
currently taking place in the union or instead
reward those who have been responsible for
the downturn in the union’s fortunes. He also
pledges to put an end to the waste and
extravagance which, he says, has created a
financial crisis in the union.
Meanwhile, Ellis, a national officer and former
executive council member for East Anglia,
says that the union must reunite if it is to
become the force it once was. He says that,
with the election of a new general secretary,
FBU members have spoken, and pledges to
use his experience to protect members’ best
interests, including dealing with issues such
as regionalisation and attacks on pensions. In
his capacity of national officer, Ellis has been
responsible for the union’s campaign against
the regionalisation of control centres.
Previous major elections in the FBU have
been tainted by accusations of skullduggery.
Supporters of Matt Wrack claimed that during
the elections for assistant general secretary
and general secretary earlier this year, their
man was the target of an orchestrated smear
campaign that was designed to discredit him.
Observers pointed out that official union
resources were being used to spread
propaganda in favour of loyalist candidates,
whilst denying any publicity for opposition
candidates. The scandal even made the
pages of the Guardian and led to a TUC
inquiry. One Wrack supporter told us, “What
went on in the previous elections was nothing
short of a disgrace. The scheming wasn’t
restricted to head office; even regional and
brigade officials were flagrantly breaking the
rules in an attempt to stop Matt Wrack.
Fortunately, since his election, Matt Wrack
has made it clear that he will not tolerate such
skullduggery in the future, and the current
election for assistant general secretary has
been relatively free from it. It makes a nice
change to have a reasonably free and fair
election in the FBU!â€
F
Suffolk strikers hold firm
- Dispute is one of several flaring in UK fire service -
- June 2003 agreement to blame for strife, say critics -
s The Phoenix goes to press, Fire Brigades
Union members in Suffolk are engaged in
strike action against their employer over cuts
to frontline services. The Suffolk fire authority is
proposing to reduce the number of wholetime
firefighters by 7%, as well as downgrading an aerial
appliance to the effect that it will no longer be
available at certain times. The union says that the
cuts are cost-driven and will endanger the lives of the
local community. FBU members in Suffolk are taking
discontinuous action, with most strikes lasting no
more than a couple of hours. So far, says the FBU,
the support from the public has been “fantasticâ€.
Brigade chair, Vince Jell, said, “Members are sticking
together well throughout the action. We’ve got public
support, and we are getting backing from the union
across the country. This is a battle about defending
the service. More than anything else, it is important
that there is resistance to cuts going through on the
nod.â€
At a recent rally in Ipswich, FBU general secretary,
Matt Wrack, said that Suffolk members were “flying
the flag for the national FBUâ€, and that it was vital for
members across the country to give their support.
Disaster
The strikes in Suffolk represent the first such action
by FBU members since the end of the national pay
dispute. It is now widely accepted that the pay and
conditions agreement that settled the dispute has
proved to be a disaster for FBU members nationwide,
with fire service employers running amok with their
plans for reductions in fire cover and attacks to
conditions of service.
Disputes have flared up in several brigades since the
deal was signed. In London, FBU members have
taken industrial action in disputes over the
implementation of co-responding and pre-arranged
overtime; Lincolnshire and Merseyside FBU brigades
have won ballots for action on co-responding;
Somerset FBU members voted for industrial action in
a dispute about New Dimension; and threats of
changes to shifts have seen battles raging between
employers and the union in Nottinghamshire,
Derbyshire, Cheshire, West Midlands and South
Yorkshire.
he overwhelming victory on a very high
turnout for Matt Wrack over Andy Gilchrist in
the election for general secretary in May was
seen as a reflection of members’ disgruntlement with
the then union leadership.
Several on the union’s executive council are said to
be resisting the mood for change, whilst others
appear to have acknowledged that they must either
embrace the new Wrack-led regime or risk defeat
themselves at the ballot box. With the election for the
position of assistant general secretary currently
taking place and further elections for EC positions
and the union’s president due within the next year,
Wrack supporters sense an opportunity to really shift
the balance of power in their favour.
A
T
The
PHOENIX
A BULLETIN FOR THE GRASSROOTS OF THE UK FIRE SERVICE
FBU members on the march in Suffolk
Bulletin No. 8 – September 2005
2
FBU MEMBERS TO CHOOSE
NEW DEPUTY LEADER
BU members are set to go to the polls
to choose a new assistant general
secretary, following the departure of
Mike Fordham, who served for twenty-two
years as the union’s number two.
Union members across the country have
started receiving ballot forms. They will be
choosing between the London regional chair,
Andy Dark, and national officer Geoff Ellis.
An election for the position was originally held
in February, with Matt Wrack the victor over
national officer John McGhee. However,
Wrack never officially took up the role, as the
election for the union’s general secretary, in
which Wrack was a candidate and eventual
winner, began straight afterwards.
In his election statement, Dark, who has been
a close ally of Matt Wrack for over twenty
years, points out that he was the only
candidate to speak out against the June 2003
pay agreement, which has led to cuts in fire
cover and attacks to conditions of service. He
says that members must decide whether they
wish to continue the process of change
currently taking place in the union or instead
reward those who have been responsible for
the downturn in the union’s fortunes. He also
pledges to put an end to the waste and
extravagance which, he says, has created a
financial crisis in the union.
Meanwhile, Ellis, a national officer and former
executive council member for East Anglia,
says that the union must reunite if it is to
become the force it once was. He says that,
with the election of a new general secretary,
FBU members have spoken, and pledges to
use his experience to protect members’ best
interests, including dealing with issues such
as regionalisation and attacks on pensions. In
his capacity of national officer, Ellis has been
responsible for the union’s campaign against
the regionalisation of control centres.
Previous major elections in the FBU have
been tainted by accusations of skullduggery.
Supporters of Matt Wrack claimed that during
the elections for assistant general secretary
and general secretary earlier this year, their
man was the target of an orchestrated smear
campaign that was designed to discredit him.
Observers pointed out that official union
resources were being used to spread
propaganda in favour of loyalist candidates,
whilst denying any publicity for opposition
candidates. The scandal even made the
pages of the Guardian and led to a TUC
inquiry. One Wrack supporter told us, “What
went on in the previous elections was nothing
short of a disgrace. The scheming wasn’t
restricted to head office; even regional and
brigade officials were flagrantly breaking the
rules in an attempt to stop Matt Wrack.
Fortunately, since his election, Matt Wrack
has made it clear that he will not tolerate such
skullduggery in the future, and the current
election for assistant general secretary has
been relatively free from it. It makes a nice
change to have a reasonably free and fair
election in the FBU!â€
F
