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Conference 1996 — Essex and Derbyshire Ballot Results — STUC

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Conference 1996 — Essex and Derbyshire Ballot Results — STUC Established 1918 JOURNAL OF THE FIRE BRIGADES UNION Firefighter Volume 24 Number 5 June 1996 Conference 1996 — Essex and Derbyshire ballot results — pages 2-3 STUC — pages 5-7 Women’s TUC — pages 17-18 Essex Cuts — Strike Ballot N 27 February 1996, after a con­ removal of chemical protection suits certed four week media campaign By from retained appliances). culminating in a mass lobby of K. HANDSCOMB, 3. Adding insult to injury, the County O council clearly devalued the worth of County Hall, Essex County Council de­ Essex cided to ignore the advice of the CFO and firefighters and control staff by cut­ the forthright warnings of the FBU. The ting their conditions and allowances. Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition dation, it was decided to go back to 4. The County Council’s decision to cut agreed a massive cut in the Fire Service branches recommending strike action. the Fire Service Budget whilst sitting Budget of £1.353 million. The Essex members gave a clear com­ on £ 15 million of Essex people's The cut consisted of a saving of £ ½ mitment to participate in any resultant money in reserves is immoral. million in unpaid salaries (understaffing), National Strike. From the outset, it’s been absolutely £80,000 cut in FBU members conditions It was on this foundation, that the clear that the FBU is in the right and on and allowances, £373,000 cut in opera­ Brigade Officials were able to build a 27 March, after a mass meeting, the tional equipment, BA, Chemical campaign against the Essex Budget Branch Delegates delivered their man­ Protection Suits, vehicles, maintenance, Cuts. dates at the Brigade Committee uniform, furniture etc and an additional The arguments were simple: Meeting, calling for a ballot of the Essex unspecified £400,000 cut from “other 1. Having too few firefighters to keep all Membership, for a series of nine hour budgets”. appliances on-the-run, puts public strikes. With the whole-hearted support Shamelessly, the County Council lives at risk. of Head Office. The ballot started on 25 agreed a recruitment freeze despite 2. The resultant slower response times April and it was only when the CFO and being fully aware that at that time, Essex and inadequate the employers realised that ‘Yes’ votes Fire Service were some 53 whole-time crewing levels were being returned fast and furious, firefighters below full establishment. puts firefighters that they began to take us (Three months on, we have fallen further lives at seriously. below to 909 whole-time firefighters, 61 increased risk below strength and 385 retained fire­ (as does cuts fighters, 43, below strength). in specialist Immediately after the fateful council equipment meeting, the Essex Brigade Committee such as the agreed that there was only one course of action appropriate and with some trepi- In an 82 per cent turnout, Essex members of the Union voted for a series of nine hour strikes. 629 voted YES 69% 282 voted NO 31% * At the time of going to press Essex mem­ bers were considering an offer made by the Authority. 2 Derbyshire to face sixth year of CUTS LONG with many other Local County running a Public campaign Authorities Derbyshire County By with leaflets, stickers and a Council are faced with yet an­ petition. Once again the support Aother year of Budget cuts. This is due from people has been overwhelm­ entirely to Government underfunding. KIM SMITH ing but the Council is still In total the Council has a shortfall of determined to push through their £16 million. The Fire Service’s share Derbyshire cuts. is to be £ 1 .3 million this com es on top of almost £6 million of cuts over the last six years. Six-hundred-thou­ the start of the meeting. At the same SUPPORT FROM MPs sand pounds has been found from an time two Senior Officers were on their underspend last year and changes to way to Merseyside for help to plan The Derbyshire group of Labour MPs vehicle leasing agreements, but that Strike tactics. So the whole process of including Tony Benn, Dennis Skinner still leaves £ 7 3 1 ,0 0 0 to find. the Senior management team holding and Harry Barnes have supported us meetings and visits to Stations has be proposing an early day motion in The Council proposes to meet this Parliament. amount by: been a complete sham with the man­ agement and Council obviously seek­ Removing a TL from Derby. ing confrontation. UNANIMOUS SUPPORT FOR Downgrading a Day Crewing sta­ STRIKE BALLOT tion to Retained. ONLY DEPARTMENT AT SSA The Brigade Committee unani­ Removing eight Rider Officers. Like many other Authorities, mously backed a call to Ballot all Removing four Retained Pumps. Derbyshire has always spent over members for a series of strikes of SSA, but this year they are deter­ nine hours duration. The Ballot started Converting four Flexi Duty Officer mined to cut us to SSA. We had the on 29th April and closed on 28th May. posts to Day Duty. largest increase in SSA of any All Branches have held a num ber of Brigade, £ 2 .7 million, yet we are still meetings where the Brigade Officials Converting Uniformed posts to facing cuts! Every other Department put the case for a YES VOTE, cul­ non-uniformed. of the Council is still spending over minating with two open meetings with Cuts to Training and Fire Safety SSA. The reason the council gives is guest speakers Peter Skinley, Budgets. to get us ready for the new Combined Merseyside, Geoff Ellis, Essex, Mike Authority next year, although there is Fordham and our own EC member Jim A review of Establishment levels no legal requirement for them to do Cairney. in Control. this. When challenged over the reduc­ Changes to National conditions tions in Fire Cover the Council and £50,000 A DAY on Dental charges and their collaborators in Brigade manage­ In the event of a vote for strike Subsistence. ment trot out "but we will still meet action it has been revealed that the minimum standards". We all know County Council will have to pay up to that these standards are too low and £50,000 to the Government for any CUTS NODDED THROUGH will endanger the Public and our own such strike. By the way this figure Members as recent tragedies have In a disgraceful example of so- does not include the cost of Police shown. called democracy, the PPC nodded assistance which as we know from through the full list of cuts to the Fire Merseyside will be huge. What mad­ Service Budget, with very little debate PUBLIC CAMPAIGN ness, the Council claim to have no about the effect of these cuts on the money but are prepared to run up people of Derbyshire. As in previous years we have huge bills in order to push through The Acting CFO despite a sanctamo­ been out on the Streets of the their cuts. nious speech full of crocodile tears, in the end supported the full list, which he along with the rest of the Senior management team had shamefully BALLOT RESULT drawn. In an 84 per cent turnout, Derbyshire members of the Union voted for a series of nine hour strikes. MERSEYSIDE 516 voted YES 75% So much for genuine debate and consultation when the Press release 174 voted NO 25% on the outcome was released before 3 FIRE SAFETY CAMPAIGN Victory for FBU in three-year campaign HE Government has finally made the long awaited announcement on T the future of fire safety and have decided that: “fire safety should, in general, be treated separately in legislation and that its enforce­ ment should rest principally with Fire Authorities” This decision is a clear rejection of the recommendations contained within the Report of Interdepartmental Review of Fire Safety Legislation and Enforcement [The Fire Safety Scrutiny] and a sub­ stantial victory for the Union’s cam­ paign over the last three years. The fact that the responsibility and legislation for fire safety will remain with the Fire Service and will not be moved to either Building Control or the Health and Safety Executive is a victory for commonsense and will ensure that public and firefighter safety remains one of the core elements of our Fire Service. There are a number of technical issues that arise out of the announce­ ment by Ministers, including the draft regulation to implement the fire safety aspects of the EC Framework and Workplace directives and the Union will continue to pursue these matters. 4 STUC CONGRESS Shaping the future The President pointed out that He commended new Labour proposals changes to working life such as the intro­ which mean that the Party’s programme duction of zero-hours contracts mean “will be submitted to the whole member­ that “it is young workers and women ship for ratification.” workers who most need the protection of The Shadow secretary believed that “it trade unions in this jungle.” wold be senseless to repeal all the trade union legislation of the ’8 0 s”, but was CASE FOR MINIMUM WAGE SPELLED applauded when he added that "Labour OUT will act to redress the Tory imbalance.” “A minimum wage is politically popu­ He pledged that GCHQ workers will lar, economically sound and socially have their trade union rights restored just." TUC Chairwoman Margaret and that those who want to join a trade Prosser told Congress when bringing union will have the right enshrined in law, greetings from the TUC. Low-paid work­ and that where a majority of workers ers face a constant struggle to make have chosen to have a union represent ends meet, and more than 450,000 them, that representation will be Scottish workers would benefit from a recognised.
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