14.09.1995

Merseyside fire dispute on hold

FOLLOWING further intervention by Acas, the government conciliation agency, the series of strikes by Mersey-side firefighters has been suspended.

The Fire Authority has now ‘set aside’ the reduction of 20 posts and loss of three days’ annual leave. This means the withdrawal - in all but name - of job cuts and leave reduction, which the authority has claimed throughout were forced on it by financial crisis.

The date set by the authority for agreement is the end of September - the latest to comply with the 90-day notice of a change of contract for implementation in the new year. This indicates that the Fire Authority may yet renege on its climbdown or try to insist on new conditions for a settlement. The FBU officials are aware of this danger and are pressing ahead with a ballot that will authorise 24-hour strikes.

FBU members are unlikely to see this deal as anything other than a defeat for the employers. The victory is not yet secure and is likely to be hedged around with sufficient detail for the employers to claim some comfort.

Throughout the dispute, despite solid support from FBU members, activity and leadership has come overwhelmingly from the officials.

This has given the national officials considerable room for manoeuvre and compromise, whereas the FBU members on Merseyside wanted a clear and decisive victory over the employers.

Despite this weakness, other workers should take note of this determined action and of how a successful strike can still be fought in the face of anti-trade union legislation. The ‘new’ Labour leadership has shown its true colours by allowing or even encouraging a Chief Fire Officer to try and break a union, using a concocted financial crisis as its excuse. A pact with the Department of Employment was used as a cover for Labour’s actions in cutting jobs and leave entitlement. It turned out that Labour politicians had used Tory central government as a smokescreen for their own plans.

Chris Jones
Ex-chair of Merseyside FBU