Fire Brigades Union:

Local Firefighters and Emergency Control Staff returned home today from their week-long Annual Conference after it had run for a single day.

243 delegates to the conference in Bridlington, including every local official, left after officials voted to suspend their Annual Conference due to National Employers continued refusal to abide by the agreed settlement to the recent fire dispute.

Dean Mills the Executive Council Member said “Employers have still refused to pay local firefighters and control staff the pay rise they were due in November 2003 as promised. Instead of responding to repeated requests for the agreement to be enacted the employers wrote to the FBU and said they were still not willing to honour the agreement.”

Employers have stated they want changes to working practices extended and Firefighters to carry out a whole range of activities removing the essential stand down period. Delegates to the conference stated that the real issue was that the Government wanted wholesale changes to the provision of fire cover for local communities.

Mr Mills stated “At a time when we are told that local people need more police officers to protect them and fight crime, and more nurses and hospital staff to protect and care for them, it was absurd that the same Government are putting the case that fewer firefighters and control staff will deliver to the public a better fire service.”

Local officials will be informing their members that as the employers had failed to abide by the settlement the only agreed working practices were those in place before the failed agreement was set out.

Nick Raynsford, the local government minister, also said this morning that computer technology could be used to deliver a better service. Mr Mills could not understand how that would be achieved. “I do not know how technology can replace firefighters and their essential support at incidents and we saw only a week ago how a teenager in Germany caused millions of computer systems to crash. So much for the supposed fail-safe technology Mr Raynsford would have the public rely on.”

Notes for Editors

The employers were given repeated requests to respond positively to the FBU before their conference which they failed to do.
A letter was finally faxed to the FBU on Tuesday 11th May saying the employers could still not honour the agreement and wanted another extension of time to consider the matter.
Firefighters and control staff have only been paid half the agreed pay increase due in November 2003 and the rest was promised by July 2004.
Firefighters and Control Staff carry out all functions during night shifts at present including fire safety inspections, drills and exercises, training, lectures, visits, examination study, and all the functions they do during day shifts.

***ENDS***

For further information contact

Dean Mills, mob 07956 502585, Regional Office on 01494 513034, email:deanmills@hotmail.com