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Essex fire dispute goes on after union chiefs refuse to sign agreement

1:20pm Wednesday 21st July 2010 in


A SINGLE paragraph has halted a long-awaited agreement between fire chiefs and union officials at the last minute.

At 11am on Wednesday, bosses from the Essex Fire and Rescue Service and the Essex Fire Brigades Union were due to sign an agreed settlement following a long-running dispute over plans to overhaul the service and cut costs.

But as journalists arrived at the service’s headquarters in Kelvedon at noon for a planned press conference, three union bosses left the headquarters without making any comment.

Chief fire officer David Johnson said the service wanted to insert a paragraph into the agreement stating no “cast iron guarantees” could be made about staffing until government cuts are announced in October.

The union refused this, and a second offer to take the paragraph out and instead publish a joint letter accepting the future was unclear.

* See Thursday's newspaper for the full story

Comments(18)

wotsit says...
2:01pm Wed 21 Jul 10

Mindless costly people going round in circles justifying their own employment.

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Shadow Demon says...
3:34pm Wed 21 Jul 10

Not unusual for the Unions to make unreasonable demands. In the current climate you'd think these over paid wallys would reslise that belts need to be tightened and that no one can say where we will be in 6 months time.

More disgusting is these union parasites earn far more than the people they represent, and back track and re negotiated just to suit their own ends.

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152 says...
3:55pm Wed 21 Jul 10

I think a lot of private sector employees wish they had union representation as strong as those in the public sector.

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shallotman says...
4:00pm Wed 21 Jul 10

Could the Fire Brigade tell me why the rate increase this year was higher than the that of the Police.

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torridpiper says...
4:51pm Wed 21 Jul 10

We need the fire service for many reasons.

And at dangerous times i.e fires they show out as the bravest, however the normal fireman should really listen to the reason for change and a dispute not just listen to the 'Arfur's Scargills and Bob's Crows ' they will lead them into a real disaster.

The Public mood at this moment is anti Public Servants etc, so listen!!!

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Boris says...
6:58pm Wed 21 Jul 10

The firefighters do a great job and one day you people too may be glad they are there when you ring 999.
Their union represents them well, and if they didn't want to sign a document with a surprise paragraph in it, it was for a valid reason.

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Heinz says...
10:41pm Wed 21 Jul 10

I'll bet no firemen are paid as much as those union people.

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See-the-real says...
10:55pm Wed 21 Jul 10

When they were on strike, who put out the fires?

The army and the police thats who.

And both those services don't have a union and have never gone on strike.

Do we need a fire service in the 21st Century?

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torridpiper says...
7:42am Thu 22 Jul 10

See-the-real wrote:
When they were on strike, who put out the fires?

The army and the police thats who.

And both those services don't have a union and have never gone on strike.

Do we need a fire service in the 21st Century?
Of course we need a fire AND RESCUE service the question is DO FIREMAN NEED A MILITANT union?

'NO' they do not !!

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Say It As It Is OK? says...
7:58am Thu 22 Jul 10

See-the-real says..."Do we need a fire service in the 21st Century?"

Yes we do......but they must get rid of their old and very outdated working practices. Their union is a throw back from the 70s and they seem intent on always bullying membership into looking for a dispute and holding their employers (the tax payer) to ransom.

In our current financial situation they, like everyone else must face reality.

However, the fire fighters do a good and worthwhile job but most of the time they are working they are not "gainfully" employed and there are far too many of them. Some still carry on other jobs as well as being a full time? fire fighter. Few in the private sector can do that!

Also cut out the chaff at the top of the service, (have you seen the state of the art Essex fire service headquarters!) How much does that cost us? Reduce the numbers of full time fire fighters and make more use of retained fire fighters to come in as required.

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silly things says...
9:35am Thu 22 Jul 10

Say It As It Is OK? wrote:
See-the-real says..."Do we need a fire service in the 21st Century?"

Yes we do......but they must get rid of their old and very outdated working practices. Their union is a throw back from the 70s and they seem intent on always bullying membership into looking for a dispute and holding their employers (the tax payer) to ransom.

In our current financial situation they, like everyone else must face reality.

However, the fire fighters do a good and worthwhile job but most of the time they are working they are not "gainfully" employed and there are far too many of them. Some still carry on other jobs as well as being a full time? fire fighter. Few in the private sector can do that!

Also cut out the chaff at the top of the service, (have you seen the state of the art Essex fire service headquarters!) How much does that cost us? Reduce the numbers of full time fire fighters and make more use of retained fire fighters to come in as required.
Using more retained fire fighters will cost more than using the full time fire fighters!

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Boris says...
1:24am Fri 23 Jul 10

I have now read the full report as printed in Thursday's paper and it is clear that the chief fire officer tried to insert a last-minute alteration into the agreement. Obviously the union could not accept that.
All you people who criticise the union, what would you feel if you went along to sign a contract, to buy or sell a house, and you found the price had been altered from what you had previously agreed?
Three cheers for people like the firefighters who insist on being treated fairly and with respect.

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corporate says...
10:04pm Sun 25 Jul 10

Boris, it wasn't an alteration, it was an addendum, and concerned - quite rightly - the effect of the current economic climate. Neither was it a case of the CFO 'trying to insert' - the fact is it WAS inserted. Nothing sinister there, and was written for the full perusal of the Union, not hidden from them. Clearly, it's not an agreement until both sides 'agree'; house prices go up before contracts are signed (it was called 'gazumping' in the old days). So the Union walked away, despite the rest of us having to tighten our belts, and accept lower standards - in essence, having our 'contracts' (employment, pay regime, council services etc) cut back without our consent. Why do firemen have a 'special' case?

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BillBill says...
10:33pm Sun 25 Jul 10

Like the earlier poster stated, yet another example of civil servants being able to cling onto outdated working practices and pension rights. Sure, firemen, on rare occassions, do dangerous work but statistically many jobs are far more dangerous, such as fishermen, logging etc - none of which enjoy the sort of financial, retirement and pension benefits the fire service does. Sure, they suffer a lot of injuries, mainly RSI from too much time playing snooker, going to the gym and painting and decorating....

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snoswad says...
8:19pm Mon 26 Jul 10

there worth every penny when your upside down trapped in a car on the motor way, or in a blazing house.

safe at home though"greedy ba****ds.

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Council Man says...
8:46pm Mon 26 Jul 10

I can’t believe I’m reading some of the posts about this story. I think they are an absolute disgrace and disrespectful to the Fire and Rescue personnel who are there for each and every one of if we are unlucky enough to call on them in what could be a life threatening situation. I just hope all of those who have been disrespectful to the Fire Service have a flat phone battery when their house is on fire or they are upside down in trapped car after being hit by a drink driver.

Disgrace an absolute disgrace!!!

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corporate says...
12:28am Tue 27 Jul 10

Quote from Council Man: "I just hope all of those who have been disrespectful to the Fire Service have a flat phone battery when their house is on fire or they are upside down in trapped car after being hit by a drink driver."

Well yes, and we sincerely hope they (Fire Service) aren't on strike over a petty situation - aka 'reality' - either. Think how many people could suffer in overturned cars, with useless mobile phones, colliding with alien spacecraft, while the Fire Service is walking away from talks aimed at resolving the crisis. Since when does walking away take precedence over meaningful discussion?

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BillBill says...
12:42am Wed 28 Jul 10

I was not meaning to be disrespectful of the fire service, per se, of course they do a difficult job sometimes in dangerous circumstances. In that, they are not alone, at such incidents other emergency services personnel are also present and also deserve to be praised for their work. This does not alter the facts however, that the fire service enjoys benefits, working conditions, pensions etc which are far superior to others in the non public sector who also do valuable and dangerous work. The fire service unions cling to outdated working practices, unrealistic staffing levels etc. They cling onto union ideals not seen since the 70s and while it is understable - they are simply fighting for their members - this does not make it right or mean it should be accepted by the taxpaying public.

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