The planned national industrial action by the firefighters is the first for
25 years. It coincides with an increasing radicalisation in the union movement,
which is a culmination of years of bitterness and resentment built up by the
attacks on the wages and conditions of workers in general, and in the public
sector in particular. The FBU is playing a leading role in the struggle for
better wages in the public sector.
On September 2 protesting firefighters descended upon Westminster, in an
action timed to coincide with pay discussions between the Fire Brigades Union
(FBU) and the local employers’ committee in the National Joint Council. There
were 5,000 firefighters present, that is 10% of the total workforce. Leaders
from other unions were there as a mark of solidarity. In Scotland the local
brigades staged a work to rule, only answering emergency calls.
The firefighters are calling for an increase of 40% which would bring wages
up to the figure of £30,000 a year, for firefighters and control room staff,
who receive only 92% of a firefighter’s wage. They are also demanding that the
same proportional increase be given to part-time (retained) staff, who are
currently paid only a £36.40 a week retaining fee, and then a much lower hourly
rate than their colleagues, this in spite of the fact that they must be on call
120 hours a week.
Socialist Appeal totally supports the firefighters in their action. Over
the last period they have been pushed into action by successive governments who
want public services on the cheap and have put thumbscrews on the firefighters
along with other public sector staff.
The last national strike of firefighters was in 1977; it forced the employers
to link their wages to those of a skilled manual worker, which gave them a
relatively good settlement. However, over the years they have fallen behind, and
they now earn 20% below the national average, while the average wage has
increased by an average 384% since 1979, this sector has increased by only 300%.
And what a scandal it is that these people who risk their lives every day are
paid £21,000 (the same as the manager in your local McDonalds) after years of
training and experience.
It just shows how much the government values their contribution. If there was
a terrorist attack in Britain tomorrow the politicians would cry their crocodile
tears, and praise the service of those who risked their lives, but they would
cry out even louder when the firefighters (as they have in the USA) asked for
wages to match the sacrifice they had made. The British public already know of
the sacrifice these workers make; that is why they overwhelmingly support the
firefighters. This support would extend to industrial action by both ASLEF and
the RMT who have said if the firefighters strike they will close the London
Underground for the safety of the workers and the passengers. The channel tunnel
will have to close, the FA have said that football matches will be called off,
and who knows what else! This just shows that nothing can function safely
without the firefighters. The government’s 900 "Green Goddess"
tenders, poised to crawl across Britain in the event of a strike, are a
dangerous joke. They have a top speed of 35mph, and they are made of wood!
Firefighters’ wages have fallen to such a low rate that some of those with
young families are now forced to claim housing benefit, and working families tax
credit just to make ends meet. At the beginning of the 21st century in a rich
country, this is the situation that skilled workers find themselves in. It was
reported in the press that out of 56 firefighters based in Brentwood, only 4
live in the local area, and some of those who travel in live 90 miles away. This
is not the exception, especially in the South East where public servants and
other low paid workers are being priced out of the housing market.
At the same time as wages have been falling the nature of the job has
changed. They still have the dangerous job of entering burning buildings and
risking their own lives pulling out survivors, but now also have to deal with
all sorts of situations, from chemical spillages to cliff-top rescues, car
accidents to severe flooding. This requires not only an enormous technical
knowledge, and ability to use a wide range of specialised equipment; fire
fighters have to be paramedics, counsellors, and rock climbers all rolled into
one. These tasks, often called "Special Services", make up 25% of the
workload. If they had a certificate for all the things they are qualified to do
they would be paid a fortune in industry.
At the same time as the increase in specialisation the workload has shot up,
during the period from 1981-99, there has been a 80% increase in the number of
call-outs, this has been paralleled by a 6% increase in staffing levels. In
addition to this, there has been a massive jump in government-imposed paperwork
and bureaucracy, for which no extra allocation has been made in the budget. And
in spite of what you might expect if you had been listening to ministers, the
government’s "Best Value" initiative, has not improved the funding
situation; the service is facing a shortfall of £156m, or 10% for 2001-02.
The watchword for the Blair government at the moment is
"modernisation". The FBU has always supported the modernisation of the
fire service because it is in the interests of their members and the public who
they serve. What worker would oppose modernisation, which will make the job
easier, safer and at the end of the day improve the quality of the product?
However "modernisation" is one of these words, which the politicians
love because it has more than one meaning: there are two types of modernisation.
As Andy Gilchrist has said: "For the employers, modernisation means more
flexibility, more cost-cutting, more half-baked schemes such as firefighters
being trained as paramedics to avoid the costs of a properly funded ambulance
service."
The drive towards modernisation has had the effect of placing greater
workload and stress on the minds and shoulders of the workers. Most firefighters
suffer back problems within a few years of joining as a result of the heavy
lifting they have to do in the course of duty. Compensation claims reached
£5.7m last year and there are only 50,000 firefighters in the UK, so that gives
a graphic picture of the numbers of injuries.
So firefighters are doing very difficult, life-threatening jobs, they have
seen the job become more specialised, heavier workloads, and greater levels of
personal injury and stress over the last 20 years. Are they not then worth
£30,000 a year?
The union has gone through the official negotiating procedure with the
employers, at the first meeting of the National Joint Council (NJC) the local
employers seemed sympathetic to the firefighters, they promised a suitable pay
increase. The firefighters thought they might get the pay rise they needed
without having to take action, however the early promises of the employers gave
way to nothing. The employers quickly reneged on their earlier promises, and
refused to make any offer in subsequent meetings. The employers suggested
setting up an independent enquiry on wages, and linking any increase with
"modernisation" and changes in working practise in the fire service.
The FBU rejected this, because it is the remit of the NJC, not an
"independent" committee with limited knowledge on how the service
works, to determine how the service should be run. The union demanded a good
rise and offered to take joint action with the local employers in order to force
the government to grant the demands.
Meeting has followed meeting but with no progress – the employers have not
been prepared to negotiate, they have been mucking about and stalling for months
The union decided to recall conference for an emergency meeting immediately
after the TUC in order to discuss the situation, and take a ballot for strike
action. The employers hurriedly tabled an offer of 4%, just to cover their
backs; they cannot have expected this to cut any ice, after all what is 4% of
not a lot?
The anger felt by members was intensified in the run-up to the emergency
conference, and a week before the TUC conference began, as it emerged from the
local employers that just a few months earlier the government had blocked a
proposed offer of a 15% rise planned for the meeting of the employers and the
union on July 2. Despite their claims that they did not want to get involved,
the government had been active behind the scenes in derailing a proposal from
the employers for a substantial rise, which would have taken the firefighters up
to £25,000 a year, while this falls short of what the firefighters want and
deserve, it would have strengthened their negotiating position, and made it
clear that the employers were willing to negotiate. It is clear that the
employers were frightened by the prospect of a national strike so they were
going to make the offer to try to head off action. However the government has
its head in the clouds, it is out if touch, and not willing to negotiate; they
do not want a reasonable settlement. Blair has even said that a 40% claim would
cause "terrible damage" to the economy, and has made plain that he is
willing to risk a national strike, rather than pay workers what they deserve. It
is a shame these politicians do not have the same concerns about the economy
when awarding themselves huge pay rises (a basic MP’s salary is £55,000+), or
accept donations from Enron!
The mood at the special emergency conference on September 12 was electric,
all 250 delegates mandated from their branches (voting on behalf of 51,849)
voted unanimously in favour of strike action. At the end of the conference the
delegates jumped to their feet and cheered. Throughout the conference members
launched scathing attacks on the government, who have the money to spend on
weapons and war but not on wages to improve the living standards of those who do
the real job of running society. To Blair’s accusation that the firefighters
were irresponsible in threatening to undermine the economy through their
actions, Andy Gilchrist pointed out that the adventures of Tony Blair with the
Americans in Afghanistan and the Middle East were costing Britain far more and
were more likely to cause economic catastrophe. The cost of the firefighters’
claim has been put at £250 million – or if you believe the government’s figure,
£450 million – either way this pales into insignificance if you look at the
£20 billion spent on inflicting misery in Afghanistan, or the £4.5 billion the
treasury says it will cost to even begin killing workers in Iraq. This explodes
the myth that Britain cannot afford decent wages for workers in the public
sector; every other advanced country in Europe pays higher wages for public
sector workers. When you consider for a minute that the total fire service
budget is £1.53 billion, and that fire damage alone causes £6.1 billion damage
each year, there is a case for massive investment in the fire service to improve
efficiency still further, which would in effect be free.
The FBU has negotiated with the employers, but at the end of the day the
employers are not prepared to pay what the members want, and deserve. The
firefighters are not going to be ignored or have their interests trampled over.
The Labour government does not want to pay a reasonable increase to the
firefighters for fear that it will open the floodgates to similar claims by
other public sector workers. Well why should they not put in these claims? The
Tories offered nothing but attacks on the public sector and now Labour under the
Blairites offer the same. The government condemns the firefighters as they
condemn all strike action. Nick Raynsford, the local government minister has
said it "would be an unnecessary and deeply damaging dispute that could put
peoples lives at risk." But what hypocrisy from the government who have
risked the lives of millions by consistently underfunding the fire service, by
allowing the scandal of the private railways to continue, and allowed conditions
to fester in the middle East laying the basis for more terrorist attacks. Now
they refuse to pay workers what they have earned. They are like little children
who think the world is so unfair, and do not see that they have brought the
situation on themselves. Now they are talking of ruling a strike in the fire
service illegal, but all their manoeuvres will only add fire to the flames. The
firefighters will fight for what they deserve. They will be backed by workers
across the country. For £30k now! Victory to the firefighters!
