Fire Brigades Union News

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson A meeting is due to be held to try to reach an agreement over new shift patterns for London firefighters and prevent further strikes. Members of the Fire Brigades Union have staged two eight-hour strikes in the capital in recent weeks and called off a planned Bonfire Night walkout at the last minute. A Resolution Advisory Panel met on Tuesday, hearing evidence from the union and the fire authority before making recommendations, probably ne...

Measures are being taken to tackle with strike initiated by FBU against cuts Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has been in a 14-month dispute with the EFA over cuts. Essex Fire Authority (EFA) has unveiled a new strategy to deal with the threat of strikes. Key members of staff are to be offered "no strikes" contracts which will reward them with higher pay during industrial disputes providing they do not take part. The move is being initiated in anticipation of action by the Fire...

Brian Coleman Fire Authority's Chairman thinks that London has surplus fire engines Fire Brigades Union claims that the cuts agenda is at the heart of London firefighters' dispute. The Fire Brigades Union claims that the cuts agenda is at the heart of London firefighters' dispute were vindicated on Nov 8th when Brian Coleman, the Fire Authority's confrontational chairman, made clear he thinks London has too many fire engines. Astonishingly,...

The London Fire Brigade has withdrawn 27 fire engines from its fleet The sudden withdrawal of fire engines has brought fire safety at stake within the city of London. FBU has strongly criticized this stand. The Fire Brigades Union condemned the London Fire Brigade for withdrawing 27 fire engines from use the day before the FBU strike ballot is due. FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack said: "This is nothing but provocation. The result of our strike ballot is not even out yet, bu...

Essex Fire Brigade Union Secretarywants Chief to change hisheart not just tune Keith Flynn, Essex FBU Secretary: “Chief needs a change of heart, not just a change of tune.” Essex fire crews gave a luke-warm reception to calls by the chief fire officer for cooperation over the biggest spending cuts in living memory. The call comes after successive years of cuts to numbers of frontline firefighters and 999 services in Essex and without any end in sight to the 16-mo...

 London firefighters will raise their voice against LFCDA to get their demands approved There would be a strike by FBU firefighters to protest against mass sackings and cuts which have made situations worse and stressful for firefighters. The Fire Brigades Union in London which is in dispute with their employer, the LFCDA, has announced that its members will strike from 1000 - 1800 hrs on Saturday (23 October) and again on Monday (1 November). BAFSA members may wish to...

There would be a 25 per cent cut in jobs from fire and rescue services according to the government plans FBU will oppose these draconian attacks on an essential frontline service and robustly defend the key role firefighters play in keeping communities safe. The Fire Brigade Union warned that ten thousand fire service jobs are under threat from government plans to slash 25 per cent from fire and rescue service budgets over the next four years. Responding to the Comprehensive...

The complete process of responding to a faulty fire alarm is a waste for professionals and the resources Earlier in the month, the Fire Industry Association advised business owners to regularly test their fire detection equipment following a blaze at a hotel. The Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service have announced plans to cut back on the number of times it attends false alarms. According to figures released by the service, its firefighters answer around 9,000 call-...

Increased retirement age and pension proposals are not being accepted by the fire service professionals Firefighting is a very physical profession. To suggest increasing retirement ages, is an ill thought out idea which is not in the public interest. Firefighters are appalled to learn of the Hutton proposals on pensions, which suggest cuts in their pension provision, increasing their retirement age and upping their pension contributions. Firefighters already pay up to11...

FBU has condemned the government’s cuts agenda The Fire Brigades Union has condemned the government’s cuts agenda in its submission to the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review – and challenged Chief Fire Officers to speak out for investment to keep the public safe. Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, calls on Chief Fire Officers to join the Union in opposing Coalition government plans to slash between 25 and 40 per cent from public service budgets. Inst...

Eric Pickles, Minister for Communities and Local Goverment and Clive Betts,Chair of Communities Select Committee Fire Brigades Union has challenged Tory ministers to deliver on their promises to scrap FiReControl, now that they are in power. Tory ministers in the Coalition government were challenged to call time on the flawed and costly plan to regionalise fire control in England. Since the last General Election the botched and wasteful FiReControl project has cost the tax...

London firefighters are demanding change in working hours According to firefighters union, the brigade's management has started issuing letters of dismissal in a bid to force firefighters to accept the new shift patterns.  London firefighters could down their tools in the near future following the Fire Brigades Union's (FBU) revelation that members overwhelmingly backed industrial action. The union has issued a notice to London Fire Brigade (LFB) that it will start to b...

Formal consultation process with theFBU on its future changes to start and finish times of shifts for firefighters London Fire Brigade began the process of formal consultation with the Fire Brigades Union on its proposed changes to start and finish times of shifts for London firefighters. Discussion and negotiation on the proposed changes have been going on for five years but have not yet resulted in a collective agreement. London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson has written to...

If the proposal is accepted, the county will face a major shortage of firefighters when need arises Cumbria firefighters will take longer to get to traffic accidents involving heavy goods vehicles, and at times will be unable to handle water rescues, if the Cumbria Fire Service carries out its plan to cut down the crewing of sophisticated rescue equipment.Cumbria FRS proposes to get rid of eight firefighter jobs, which will leave insufficient firefighters to crew the county&rs...

Support of FBU lead Mr Bennett'scase towards victory The Fire Brigades Union and Thompsons Solicitors have secured a ground-breaking victory for firefighter Christopher Bennett after he was sacked for sending an email to colleagues about the fire service's insistence that he used a chair that was injuring his back on nightshifts at work. The Tribunal found that his right to freedom of expression under the Human Rights Act had been breached and that his dismissal was unfa...

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service proposals would bring down safety and security measures   Warwickshire FBU Officials are planning branch meetings across the county to gauge members' response to plans to close three fire stations. The move follows last weeks decision by Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Authority to close Studley, Warwick and Brinklow stations and replace a whole time day crewing appliance with a small fires unit. The Fire Authority met in full on 2...

There has been a rise in harassment of firefighters In a recent attack in South Wales a firefighter was shot with an air gun, which seriously injured him. "Where is your report?" FBU asks Welsh Assembly government after air rifle attack. The Fire Brigades Union called for the immediate publication of a long-promised Welsh Assembly report, which thus far Welsh regional officials have not seen, dealing with attacks on firefighters, and for firm action to be taken by the Welsh...

FBU says it is concerned by moves to arrest three managers over the deaths of four firefighters The Fire Brigades Union says it is concerned by moves to arrest three managers over the deaths of four firefighters killed in a warehouse fire in November 2007. All three were involved in the incident command process and may face allegations of gross negligence / manslaughter in relation to the deaths. All three have been told, by letter, to attend a Warwickshire Police statio...

South Yorkshire FBU will not be proceeding with the 8-day strike after the authority agreed to refer a dispute South Yorkshire FBU will not be proceeding with the eight-day strike which, was due to start on 27 January after the fire authority agreed to refer a dispute over shift changes to national arbitration. All other industrial action has also been temporarily suspended. The issues have been referred to national fire service arbitration known as the National Joint Cou...

80 percent of Essex firefighters voted for industrial action opposing cuts Essex firefighters show opposition to cuts 8 out of 10 firefighters and fire officers in Essex have voted in favour of industrial action short of a strike against plans to cut one in ten frontline firefighters based at stations. Fire crews also want managers to negotiate other changes rather than impose them without agreement. Keith Flynn, Essex FBU brigade chair said: "Essex fire crews have s...