FBU

Fire Brigades Union

Union sets plan on sexual harassment

On 7 February, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) published the results of an independent inquiry which it commissioned into sexual harassment in the union, alongside an initial action plan signed off by the Executive Council. The headline finding is shocking: 30 per cent of FBU women members have experienced sexual harassment by fellow members in a union context. The inquiry surveyed all women and BME FBU members, as well as a random selection of white men. The work was supported by the FBU’s National Women’s Committee. The report was commissioned following a series of scandals in other unions. In...

“Minimum” is 100%?

Sometimes, the clarion calls in the most inauspicious of places. Little did I know when I crossed the threshold into Cadbury World, already eyeing up the torso-sized bags of misshapen chocolate rejects in the shop, that the gloriuous crescendo of a mid-week Birmingham trip was to be derailed. As I get the phone out to find the ticket bought from a janky third-party website, I see that the government has published the Minimum Service Level regulations for fire services. The level has been set at 73% of fire engines being on the run on strike days. This is utterly farcical. Because of over a...

Firefighters win on maternity pay

The country’s second largest fire service has approved maternity leave of 52 weeks on full pay. West Midlands Fire Service, the second largest in the country, has approved 52 weeks full pay for employees on maternity and adoption leave. Paternity leave was increased from one to two weeks with full pay. “This is a fantastic result for members in the West Midlands, for which we applaud the efforts of the brigade representatives and the local women’s committee,” said FBU assistant general secretary Ben Selby. “We are seeing other services move significantly too, which again is positive — but our...

Firefighters issue new manifesto

Nearly a thousand firefighters rallied at Westminster on 1 November to make political demands about the fire and rescue service. The FBU launched its Firefighters’ Manifesto, pulling together its assessment of the state of fire and rescue and the union’s main demands on central government. The past 20 years have devastated the fire and rescue service. The so-called “modernisation” reforms imposed by New Labour and accelerated by Tory-led governments since 2010 have worsened the service in every respect. Ministers removed national standards, including fire cover, which has led to slower...

Merseyside firefighters resist attacks on conditions

Members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in Merseyside are involved in two industrial disputes over terms and conditions. FBU Merseyside secretary Ian Hibbert and chair Lee Hunter spoke to Solidarity about the issues involved. Q: Can you give an overview of your local disputes? A: We have two parallel disputes in Merseyside. One, where we have a ballot for industrial action short-of-strike, is over imposed changes to firefighters' terms and conditions. The employer, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS), has unilaterally altered conditions from the point of entry. This has been done...

Union demands 12 months maternity for firefighters

A new report into maternity pay and provisions in the fire service has been published by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) showing women firefighters are “systematically undervalued” by the current arrangements. Information gathered from fire and rescue services across England has uncovered vast inequality in maternity pay. Freedom of Information requests reveal that a firefighter in Cornwall receives £15,000 less than their counterpart in Staffordshire in maternity pay. The national minimum for maternity pay for firefighters provides only 90% pay for an initial six weeks, decreasing to 50% pay...

Cancer vs wet wipes

E collars me at change of watch as I’m coming off duty. After a job last tour, he says, he followed the new post-fire decontamination procedure, bagging up his fire gear, hosing and wiping down his breathing apparatus (BA) set and cleaning his helmet. He wiped down the exterior and soaked the fabric interior in soapy water, scrubbing and rinsing as best he could. “The next day, my lid still smelled a bit smoky but we don’t keep spares so I stuck it on the fire engine. I put it on at a shout, and when I took it off there was a black line of soot around my head.” The policy tells you to wash it...

Anti-strike law: what “defiance” means

From the Free Our Unions blog Fire Brigades Union leader Matt Wrack has called for a “mass movement of non-compliance” against the Minimum Service Legislation. That’s good. But as I understand the legislation, “non-compliance” begs the question. A union can refuse to enter into consultation about “minimum service” levels. Then, under the law, the levels are set by the government. A union can refuse to talk with the employer about which people will required to work on strike days to provide those levels. Then, under the law, the employer can name people unilaterally. If the union refuses to...

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