11.01.1996

Fire service crisis spreads

Merseyside fights back

FIREFIGHTERS and control staff walk out again on January 12 and 13. This is the first strike in the new year, following legal manoeuvres, organised by the Fire Brigades Union. It advised its members to write a series of letters to the fire authority, questioning the legality of new contracts due to be issued on January 1.

The first came and went with no significant moves by management, but the only annual leave scheme published for 1996 is the management’s proposed system that cuts three days’ leave and leads to the loss of 20 jobs. Liverpool city council, one of the five councils that send members to the fire authority, unanimously passed a resolution that called for a withdrawal of the disputed contracts. This was followed by meetings of the authority and a new ‘final’ offer.

The offer was similar to the one made at the end of December, described by FBU officials at the time as a worsening of the original proposals. That offer had included a £200 one-off payment for selling working conditions. The ‘new’ offer adds further conditions on sickness and bank holidays, making clear the authority’s aggressive stance. It puts into perspective an ‘offer’ made at meetings with George Howarth, the Labour spokesman on the fire service, on December 13. ‘Concessions’ from the employers made at that meeting have never materialised.

The home office inspectorate, due to visit Merseyside this week, called off its inspection because of the strikes and “ill health”. This snub clearly upset the Labour chair of the authority, who was disappointed by the decision. It followed a joint FBU-fire authority meeting at the home office on Monday, a meeting that lasted 20 minutes - hardly enough time for them to sit down, let alone argue for more funds.

Merseyside may not be alone for long, as London FBU members are now being balloted on strike action, following a threat to 600 jobs in the capital.

The crisis in the fire service is likely to deepen as budgets are set nationally in the next month.

Chris Jones