FBU: The rank and file must take the initiative

Submitted by Janine on 26 May, 2004 - 6:33

Resist the sell-out, reject the deal

Firefighters fighting further attacks on their terms and conditions found this week that the FBU leadership was intent on negotiating a deal which would open the door to changes in the four-watch shift system, and even allow fire service management the option of closing some fire stations overnight, even while it encouraged firefighters to risk suspension in pursuit of a union policy it no longer believed in.
Having spent weeks insisting that 'stand down time' (the time, in the early hours of the night, when fire crews are only required to attend calls, not perform routine duties) was a non-negotiable issue, the FBU leadership has been in talks with employers this week, trying to 'agree a form of words' on precisely this issue. The question of 'stand down time' only arose after management refused to pay the second installment from last year's settlement to the long-running firefighters' dispute, insisting that, in addition to the concessions the FBU had already given them in that settlement, they would also want changes to stand down time before they paid the increase. On Wednesday, however, the FBU Executive Committee announced they had agreed, with only one vote against - Mick Shaw, the EC member from the London region, to recommend acceptance of a deal on 'stand down time' which effectively gives management everything they wanted. What's worse, the EC then decided to carry out a quick consultation with regions over the next seven days before meeting again next Wednesday to sign off on the deal - not even waiting for the reconvened conference which they had called for! It now seems like the charade of suspending conference was just a way of creating a deadline for the employers.

Widespread resistance to the employers broke out following the suspension of FBU conference three weeks ago, when the FBU resolved to suspend implementation of the 2003 agreement. However, the interpretation of that decision has been largely left to local activists, and the response has been varied. That has left the more militant sections of the FBU exposed to management victimisation. There's now widespread fear that the activists who followed the union line, and held firm against management bullying and intimidation, will now be left high and dry by a deal done over their heads by the FBU leadership.

Speaking to Solidarity the day the EC decided to accept the deal, Andy Dark, FBU Health and Safety Co-ordinator in London Region, said, "There were many of us in the union who felt that this was inevitable. In the interests of unity we didn't split the conference [when the EC recommended suspending it for four weeks]. 50,000 FBU members have had their shift system given away. Approximately 150 GMC members have been abused by this union. They have been encouraged to continue fighting whilst on suspension although those same national officials were all the time planning to give the employers what they wanted."

In some areas, the FBU leadership had taken a firm line and management had accepted a degree of non-cooperation, while in others, firefighters continued working normally. But in Manchester, where fire crews refused to operate new anti-terror equipment provided for in the agreement, management hit back by suspending crews who refused to sign blank cheques recognising management's right to instruct them to work in whatever way they chose. Within a week over 140 firefighters were suspended from duty, without pay, for a variety of offences, which all amounted to 'following FBU policy'.

The union responded with threats of an official ballot for industrial action, but it was the spreading unofficial action, including work-to-rules and 999-only working, which was putting Manchester management on the back foot. There was talk last week of demonstrations in support of the Manchester firefighters, and of plans to spread the unofficial action to force management to allow the affected workers back to work.

Now the EC has attempted to behead the unofficial action, by sewing up a deal without even waiting for the recall conference.

Firefighters still lack the kind of rank-and-file organisation which could deliver the necessary kind of solidarity action for the Manchester firefighters. The FBU leadership is continuing its witch-hunt against the Grassroots FBU network, which could possibly take a lead in providing an alternative strategy. Having authorised a local ballot for industrial action within Manchester, the EC is now instructing all other firefighters to suspend their solidarity action. But that will leave the initiative firmly in the hands of the Executive Committee, who have demonstrated already that they have no intention of using it, except to sell-out the struggle.

Many firefighters, including some who voted to accept the employers' offer last year, are now calling for the whole deal to be ripped up, and negotiations to proceed under the leadership of a national strike committee - directly elected, and with the support and confidence of firefighters, who have clearly lost confidence in the leadership of Andy Gilchrist and the EC. Indeed, there is now a strong desire to see the current leadership replaced wholesale. Andy Dark, again: "The membership can only gain by clearing out the top table. A few months of confusion and disorientation [caused by a complete change of leadership], is nothing compared to a future which will be riddled with the same political corruption we have experienced over the last two years."

The Manchester situation could have become a test case for the anti-union laws, too. With over a hundred firefighters suspended, there were many calls for unofficial strike action. It now seems unlikely that this will happen, because the activists have had the basis of their dispute ripped from under them by their own leadership. If it happens, however, then GMC management will have to consider using the anti-union laws against the firefighters. A successful resolution of the dispute would raise the question of the anti-union laws for all trade unionists - currently the major unions are carefully avoiding making any calls for changes to the anti-union laws in their discussion of the policies required by the next Labour government.

Paul Embery, a London FBU activist, and one of those targetted by the current witch-hunt against supporters of the Grassroots FBU, believes that a majority of firefighters are against the deal - but that it may not help them: "This will go down very badly in the branches, at least as badly as when they sold us out over Long Service Increments last year. We could definitely get a majority against the deal, if there was a ballot. And that's why there won't be a ballot. In one week, there won't be time for EC members to properly report back to regions and brigades, and the consultation will be very limited. Even in the brigades that are serious about consulting people we're going to struggle to get round everyone. Some firefighters won't even come on duty in the next six days. That means it will be a limited consultation, and one where the result is open to interpretation. The EC have left it to themselves to decide what to do, when they meet next week."

Embery believes that the deal, if it is signed next week, could be overturned at the conference. "I think they'll have to hold the conference. Gilchrist gave personal guarantees when the conference was suspended that it would be recalled, so I don't think they can cancel it. So there will be emergency motions, I'm sure, going in to overturn the deal, if the EC agrees it. But if the deal is signed before conference, then there will be legal issues. I expect they'll be saying it is a signed, legal document, a fait accompli. Unofficial action is very difficult to organise in the fire service, and even for this, I think it's unlikely. I think it will come down to what happens at conference."

Firefighters face a serious problem: they need a strategy that can turn back the employers' offensive, and take back the initiative from their leadership. That means rejecting the proposed deal on stand down, but it also means stepping up action to win the re-instatement of the Manchester firefighters - without waiting for the EC's dubious idea of leadership any longer. Unofficial action may well be difficult to organise, but the Manchester firefighters have proved that it is possible. A national demonstration could provide the spark to trigger nationwide rejection of the EC's sellout. The Manchester firefighers stuck their necks out for union policy, and it is essential that the rest of the union doesn't leave them paying the price of this latest sell-out.

Reject the 'stand down' deal, resist the sell-out!
No trust in the FBU leadership! For a national strike committee!
Call a national demonstration in support of the Manchester firefighters now!
No co-operation with the 2003 agreement!
Spread the dispute! For national action to win re-instatement in Manchester!

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