1:20pm Wednesday 21st July 2010
By James Calnan
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
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