Union conference rejects draft agreement on fire service reform

In March 2003, negotiations between the Fire Brigades Union and the local authority fire service employers resulted in a draft agreement aimed at ending the long-running pay dispute in the UK fire service. However, a special conference of union delegates on 19 March voted to reject the document. The government subsequently published legislation enabling ministers to impose a pay settlement.

Talks aimed at settling the long-running pay dispute in the fire service (UK0210104F and UK0211107F) got underway in February 2003 (UK0302101N), chaired by Professor Frank Burchill, the independent chair of the National Joint Council (NJC) - the negotiating body for fire service terms and conditions. On 6 March, the local authority fire service employers formally tabled an offer for consideration by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). Following amendments to the document in response to points raised by FBU negotiators, the union’s executive committee met on 18 March and on a majority vote decided to recommend acceptance of the revised offer and to call off a 24-hour strike scheduled for 20 March.

The draft agreement linked pay increases for firefighters with reforms to modernise the fire service. On pay, the draft agreement set out staged pay increases which would result in a cumulative 16% rise by July 2004, resulting in an annual wage for qualified firefighters of GBP 25,000. Under the proposals, firefighters would receive:

• a 4% increase backdated to November 2002;

• 7% from November 2003; and

• 4.2% from July 2004.

The draft agreement also provided for increases in July 2005 and July 2006 in line with a pay formula to be determined by the NJC as soon as possible.

The pay offer was part of an overall package that included changes to conditions of service, new arrangements for dealing with local disputes and disciplinary matters and a commitment to revise the current negotiating machinery. The draft agreement stated that the proposed pay rises would be subject to the completion of all negotiations on the issues identified by the agreement as requiring further discussion, and to verification by the Audit Commission that the intended benefits, including savings, of the various national changes were being delivered locally.

On 19 March, the employers’ offer was considered by a special conference of the FBU. The FBU’s general secretary, Andy Gilchrist, said he thought the offer was the best available in the current political situation. However, the union delegates at the conference overturned the leadership’s recommendation and voted overwhelmingly to reject the draft agreement 'in the strongest possible terms'.

The following day the deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, made a statement to the House of Commons in which was strongly critical of the FBU conference’s rejection of the offer. He said that the offer was 'both generous and at the absolute limit of what [the employers] could afford', and that there would be no further funding from the government for an increased offer. He said that the continuing fire dispute meant that 19,000 members of the armed forces had to be held in reserve to provide emergency fire cover in the UK in the event of further strikes, and that this was unacceptable in view of the commencement of military action in Iraq. The government would therefore proceed to introduce legislation enabling ministers to impose a pay settlement. Mr Prescott said that, in setting the level for a settlement, he would 'take into account the pay rise that would have been forthcoming under the FBU’s existing formula, the pay review bodies’ recommendations for other key public sector workers and the government’s overall approach to public sector pay'. In other words, the terms of any imposed settlement could be less favourable to firefighters than the employers’ current offer.

Reacting to Mr Prescott’s statement, FBU national officer John McGhee said: 'You cannot impose agreement. You need to sign up for agreed change or it will not happen. We are still working towards a negotiated agreement which is the only way forward for the fire service.' The same day the employers met and resolved that there was 'no scope for further negotiation'.

The Fire Services Bill, giving the government the power to fix or modify the conditions of service of firefighters, and to give directions to fire authorities about the use or disposal of property or facilities, was published on 21 March.

The FBU has circulated the draft agreement to its members and is due to hold a further conference to discuss the matter on 15 April. No further industrial action is currently planned by the union.