25 October 2002
'I hope he's got a way out of this,' a sceptical union leader muses of his colleague Andy Gilchrist, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union. Gilchrist's 50,000 members are poised for the first industrial action for 25 years – all in support of a pay claim 20 times the rate of inflation.
The situation is rapidly turning into a political nightmare for the Labour government, with the first two-day strike expected on October 29. A flurry of ministerial comments over the past seven days has done little to dampen the firefighters' resolve, with Gordon Brown living up to his 'iron chancellor' image by warning that he will release no extra funds for the firefighters' 39% claim. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has dubbed the claim 'fantasy', while his fire minister Nick Raynsford has moved from cajoling to warning firefighters that they are putting lives at risk.
The conflict is at a classic stalemate. Few would dispute that £21,500 for a professional firefighter is poor in comparison to other sectors. 'This dispute is about professional pay for a multi-skilled fire and rescue service that performs a key public duty every second of the year,' says Gilchrist.
But his ploy to recoup years of poor pay in one sitting does not sit well with the New Labour philosophy of 'something for something' investment. Sir Jeremy Beecham, chair of the Local Government Association, says: 'The FBU said they wanted to change the pay formula – we agreed and thought it was the right time to link pay to modernisation. They refused to link the two, we suggested an independent inquiry, they refused. All the way through they have repeated the simple mantra: pay or strike.'
Modernisation has fast emerged as the issue that neither side, including the government, can afford to compromise on.
The FBU maintains that it has already modernised and now it is time for higher pay to reflect the service its members provide.
But employers say that a service run by a 99% male and 98.5% white workforce is far from diverse or modern. There are also 40 applicants for every job and shift patterns that ensure that firefighters spend just 5% of their time actually fighting fires.
The FBU has also been suspicious of attempts to reform. It blocked the Wiltshire Fire Service when its local branch agreed to share control room facilities with other emergency services and balloted for action over the same issue in Cleveland.
But with just 900 of the military's aged Green Goddesses covering for 3,000 red engines, it is a dangerous stalemate.
The government, with a number of other public sector unions eyeing the dispute with interest, can't be seen to waver. But with 36 days of action planned – plus knock-on effects expected in other services including transport – neither side will end up with much public support.
The solution, conceded by employers and the government, is the independent review into the fire service set up a month ago and chaired by Sir George Bain. The former chair of the Low Pay Commission says he has a knack of getting people to agree, but so far Gilchrist has refused to co-operate.
Bain says that this will not undermine the review's legitimacy. It has already collected 110 pieces of written evidence and interviews with serving firefighters. 'We have a pretty good idea of the FBU's position,' he told Public Finance. 'It would be helpful if the FBU co-operated. We will see them at any time, our door is always open.'
Despite the FBU's concerns that Bain is nothing more than a union-basher, it seems likely that the review will recommend a pay increase – although 39% is doubtful.
Employers' leaders fear that Gilchrist has backed himself into a corner, leaving no option but industrial action. Behind closed doors, sources claim that the TUC is exerting pressure on him to take part in the review, anxious that the dispute doesn't transform into a tussle between the government and Left-wing unions. But most concede that strikes next week are inevitable.
The review is due to report by mid-December, leaving both sides with several weeks and several strikes before any clear recommendations are put forward. Let's hope someone has a way out.
PFoct2002
