Letter: FBU - reject in the name of what?
The report on the FBU’s pay deal in Solidarity 663 had the whiff of toy-town syndicalism. Instead of interrogating the FBU’s strategy, it exhorts firefighters to strike for the sake of it. Solidarity ignores the specific industrial relations context. The FBU has UK-wide collective bargaining — the National Joint Council. It is under attack from Westminster, the inspectorate, chief fire officers and employers. The White Paper published last May is designed to weaken the FBU, while giving chiefs carte blanche. The Minimum Service Levels Bill may undermine firefighter strikes. Solidarity fails to...