FBU

Fire Brigades Union

Unions should coordinate strike flurry

Teachers struck on 17 October in a well-supported action On Wednesday 16 October, the Royal Mail workers’ ballot for strikes over pay and conditions, in the context of postal service privatisation, will be returned. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) strongly expects that it will return a yes vote; any strike would be the first national postal workers’ strike since 2009. The CWU are expected to begin with an all-out national strike, followed by rolling action in the run up to Christmas. On Saturday 19 October, firefighters in England and Wales were due to strike again, following a strike on...

Industrial news in brief

Junior doctors in the Republic of Ireland Ireland held a one day strike on 8 October over long working hours. Three thousand doctors took part and fifty-one hospitals were affected. Junior doctors are routinely required to work individual shifts of over 24 hours at a time and up to 100 hours a week. The Irish Government has admitted that the hours worked are in breach of the European Working Time Directive. The doctors' strike follows weeks of failed negotiations with the Irish health service. During the strike doctors carried out a transplant and dialysis service and palliative care.They...

Firefighters could strike again soon

Last week’s successful firefighters’ pensions strike is unlikely to be the last action, unless the government returns to the negotiating table, according to the Fire Brigades Union. The four-hour strike on Wednesday 25 September in England and Wales was solid, with the vast majority of firefighters walking out collectively part way through their shift to set up picket lines outside stations. Firefighters held rallies across the country, including in Brighton, Cardiff, Leeds and London. Some London Underground drivers refused to take trains out in solidarity. The main incident on the day was...

Firefighters' nationwide strike

Firefighters in England and Wales take strike action on Wednesday 25 September in response to government attacks on firefighters’ pensions which would see them pay more, work longer and receive reduced benefits on retirement. The four-hour strike is expected to be solid, after a strong yes vote and turn-out. The FBU has invited trade unionists and other supporters to visit picket lines and show solidarity. Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary has called it “a warning shot” to the government, implying that further action will follow if no progress is made in negotiations. No further dates have...

Firefighters to strike

Firefighters in England and Wales will strike on Wednesday 25 September after governments in Westminster and Cardiff refused to budge in the pensions dispute with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). The FBU does not accept the proposed pension scheme that may see firefighters forced out of the job early or forced to work to 60, putting public safety at risk. Firefighters voted by nearly four-to-one in the ballot over the summer. Although some progress has been made in Scotland, which means strikes will not take place there next week, the lack of movement at Westminster meant action had to be called...

Firefighters move closer to strikes

Members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have voted strongly for strike action over the government’s pension proposals which could see the first national firefighters’ strike for a decade. FBU members voted almost four-to-one (78%) on a 60% turnout for strike action with the next month – close to an absolutely majority of those balloted. Although the Public Service Pension Act pushes up the normal pension of firefighters to 60, the union has sought guarantees that firefighters can continue to retire earlier than that because of the physical nature of the job. Even the government’s own review...

Firefighters move closer to pensions strikes

Members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have voted strongly for strike action over the government’s pension proposals, which could see the first national firefighters’ strike for a decade. Firefighters in England, Scotland and Wales were balloted over the summer after the fire minister issued a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum on pensions. FBU members voted almost four-to-one (78%) on a 60% turnout for strike action with the next month – close to an absolutely majority of those balloted. Control members who have different scheme and Northern Ireland firefighters were not balloted. Although the...

Johnson to force through fire cuts

London Mayor Boris Johnson has overruled the city’s Fire Authority to force through potentially devastating cuts to the capital’s fire service. 10 stations, 14 engines, and 552 jobs will go as part of a cuts plan aimed at saving nearly £30 million. Johnson is making the cuts unilaterally, despite the Authority having voted against them. 94% of respondents to the public consultation around the cuts opposed them, with hundreds attending local meetings and demonstrations. Around 1,000 firefighters and supporters marched on 18 July to demand the cuts plan be shelved. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU)...

Firefighters ballot for national strike

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) will ballot members from 18 July for national strike action after the government issued an ultimatum over changes to firefighters’ pensions. The ballot, which lasts until the end of August, is expected to produce a large yes vote, with strikes likely in September if a settlement is not reached before then. Why are firefighters balloting at this late stage of the pensions battle? Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “Expecting large numbers of 60 year olds to fight fires and rescue families is dangerous to the public and to firefighters. The government is...

FBU edges closer to strikes on pensions

The Fire Brigades Union held its conference in Blackpool last week at a time of unprecedented attacks on firefighters and the fire and rescue service. As part of their austerity and restructuring agenda, the Tory-led government is attempting to impose savage cuts on the fire service, privatisation (starting with mutualisation in Cleveland) as well as an unworkable pension scheme on firefighters. Government fire cuts announced earlier this year are double those imposed two years ago, with cuts of over a thousand firefighter jobs every year of their administration so far. For the first time...

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