Brighton 1974
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Established 1918 JOURNAL OF THE FIRE BRIGADES' UNION Fire SEPTEMBER 1974 VOL 2 No. 6 FIGHTER BRIGHTON 1974 A SOCIAL CONTRACT says TUC Let's Elect a Labour Government PAGE TWO FIREFIGHTER/SEPTEMBER 1974 Fire FIGHTER MONTHLY JOURNAL OF THE FIRE BRIGADES' UNION 59 FULHAM HIGH ST. LON DON SW6 GENERAL SECRETARY: T E R E N C E P A R R Y , OB E Union makes progress at NJC meeting PROGRESS was made on several issues at the last meeting holidays for the Fire Service will be receiving consideration of the National Joint Council, which was the Annual Gen by the Executive Council. eral Meeting, at the Fire Service Technical College, Moreton-in-Marsh. RETAINED MEMBERS ALLOWANCES The main points are reported below. • Retained members’ allowances with the exception of the retaining fee, are to be increased by 7 per cent dating from 1st April 1974. There is also for the first time to be EXTRA HOLIDAYS payment made to retained members for attendance at SOME PROGRESS was made on two extra-public holidays drills. This will be at the appropriate hourly rate and is for the Fire Service and payment for attendance at drills to also backdated to 1st April 1974. retained members. Other items are continuing to receive attention. The full details of the improvements in retained members’ conditions is explained by Roy Martindale on page 3. • From 1975 the Fire Service will be brought into line with the National Agreements on the number of Public Holi CONTROL ROOM STAFF days granted to the manual grades, and the Administra tive, Professional, Technical and Clerical Employees in • For Control Room Staff it now seems there is a firm Local Government, that is to say, in addition to the seven nomenclature agreed. As reported in the last issue of statutory public holidays there will be two extra-public Firefighter there is to be an additional senior rank holidays a year granted on exactly the same arrange created. ments as for the present seven statutory days. The six ranks will be known as: Fire Control Operator, No decision was made as to which days would be desig Leading Fire Control Operator, Senior Fire Control nated as extra-public holidays for the Fire Service. The Operator, Fire Control Officer, Group Fire Control general practice in Local Government has been to leave Officer, Principal Fire Control Officer. this for local agreement. Agreement was reached in July and promulgated on In 1948, when our members in Scotland settled for the adjustments in salary for existing Control Room Officer dates of their public holidays in the Scottish Fire Service, the ranks which operated from 1st July 1974, as did the main Western Area chose one day to be Bastille Day and that still Control Room Staff agreement. remains. Who knows, we might now get suggestions for The salary scale for the new rank of Principal Control Burns Night (or more likely the day after). Room Officer will be settled by the Officers’ Committee of The constitutional position is that the arrangements the N.J.C. decided on for designating the dates of the two extra-public continued on page 3 FIREFIGHTER/SEPTEMBER 1974 PAGE THREE Probationary Firemen should be given early warning of NJC REPORT CONTINUED any adverse personal report. • Aggregation of Casual Overtime This should be discussed with him by the appropriate Officer and a note of the adverse report given to the man. The Employers were able to agree that the recall to duty The member would then be free to inform the Union and for a catastrophe should attract a minimum of three hours’ the Union would have the opportunity of contacting the pay at double time and that all hours worked beyond the appropriate Officer with a view to endeavouring to help first three in those circumstances should be at double time. the member. In relation to casual overtime the Employers were pre pared to offer each occasion of more than 10 minutes to be counted as a separate incident rounded upwards to the nearest half hour but to continue to be paid at the rate of time-and-a-half. The Union pointed out that this formula could in many cases mean worsening of the present posi Use agreement tion and therefore rejected it. Following the reorganisation of the Fire Service many of the Employers’ representatives from the new County Associations and Association of Metropolitan Counties were attending the National Joint Council for the first to recruit time. The Employers affirmed that it was their intention to make an improvement on the present position and were prepared to reconsider the claim. In these circumstances the Union again fully outlined retained men the revised claim on payment for casual overtime to the new Employers’ representatives which is for aggregation to be terminated and for each incident over 15 minutes (or 10 minutes if the Employers agree) to be paid as a separate incident rounded up to units of a full hour and paid at the to the union rate of double time. The Employers were put on firm notice that they would By ROY MARTINDALE be expected to agree this proposal at the next meeting of THE NEW agreement for the National Joint Council (which is in September) or the retained members set out in full question would be put to the membership as one on which below is something the Union it appeared Firemen were being taken for granted. has been attempting to get set tled for a good number of years. • London Weighting Allowance We have always regarded the fact that no payment for atten The Pay Board’s Report on London Weighting Allow dance at drills to retained ances was noted and referred to the Joint Secretaries of members was a form of daylight the National Joint Council for consideration. robbery. Now we have got payment, • Subsistence and out-of-Pocket Allowances based on the hourly rate and backdated to April 1st, 1974. A claim by the Union for a revision of Subsistence and Moreover, payment for two Out-of-Pocket Allowances as well as for air travel costs hours will be made for two for students from Scotland and Northern Ireland attend weeks of annual leave, and full ing the Fire Service Technical and Staff Colleges was payment of two hours on up to referred to the Joint Secretaries for consideration. four occasions a year of the member’s away on certificated • Report of Joint Committee on 48 Hour Week and sick leave. Further Involvement of all Personnel in Fire Preven All allowances other than the retaining fees have been tion Duties increased by 7 per cent, again The following is an extract from the Report of the Joint backdated to April 1st, 1974. Committee which went to the National Joint Council and Besides these continuing refers principally to no overtime being worked on Fire progresses, in allowances, the Stations when the 48 hour week is introduced. Union also provides other ser money. I would urge all “ Both Sides of the Joint Committee re-affirmed the vices for our retained mem retained members to become intention to move on November 8, 1974 to an actual bers: involved in bringing all other *General Representation retained men into the Union. working week of 48 hours as provided in the National *Legal Services — Damages, If there are non-members on Council’s agreement. For the Employees’ Side, the etc. your Fire Station get them in Employees’ Secretary stated that the Fire Brigades *Accident and Injury Fund, the Union. When there are Union' s firm policy would be that no overtime on wherever small payments non-Union retained Fire Sta account of establishment deficiencies would be allowed attract on duty and off duty tions — do all you can to help on the changeover to the 48 hour week. If necessary benefits in case of accident and your Brigade Union officials to specialist staff involved in non-emergency duties would substantial benefits for death at bring them into the Union. have to be temporarily redeployed to make up any seri fires. ous manning deficiencies at Fire Stations. MILESTONE “The Employers expressed understanding of the BENEFITS Issues directly affecting motive behind this policy and affirmed that the 48 hour There really is a moral oblig retained members do crop up ation as well as clear benefits from time to time in Brigades. week was to be an actual working week of 48 hours. for all retained members of the There is no question that the They were nevertheless extremely concerned at any Fire Service to be members of Union is better equipped to action which might lead to a reduction in standards of The Fire Brigades Union. deal with these issues when all fire cover.” The FBU recognise that the retained men are members most retained firemen already of the Union. • Probationary Firemen Progress Reports pay Union dues to their own A milestone has been Union and consequently keep reached with payment for drills Discussions were continued and referred to Joint Sec the fees to retained members in to retained members — retaries on the question of Progress Reports on Pro the FBU low. strengthen your position bationary Firemen, a matter already agreed in principle. Retained members' Union further by bringing all retained The Union are seeking to reach an arrangement that fees are more than value for men into the Union. PAGE FOUR FIREFIGHTER/SEPTEMBER 1974 "DU STY" - you did us proud! Phil (Dusty) Miller, London E.C. Member, has now retired from the Fire Service and at the No. 11 Regional meeting held on 24th July, 1974, the oppor tunity was taken to say " good bye" to our most respected Executive Council Member, Bro.