18 April 2003
The Fire Brigades Union has urged employers to 'look again' at independent proposals to end the firefighters' dispute after members rejected the 'full and final' offer this week.
Employers warned that there was now no clear way forward after the FBU voted overwhelmingly against the three-year 16% pay deal at a special conference on April 15.
Instead, members voted by two-to-one to accept a motion based on a proposal by Professor Frank Burchill, the independent chair of the National Joint Council. This guarantees firefighters the 16% pay increase but, more importantly, it retains the firefighters' right to veto any changes in working practices.
The employers have already rejected Burchill's proposals. They claim that allowing firefighters a veto would prevent any reform, limiting the savings needed to fund the three-year pay deal.
A spokesman told Public Finance: 'This would have replaced one national dispute with 58 local disputes. It maintains the status quo, giving the firefighters extra pay without any changes. We don't think the Burchill proposals will settle the dispute nor do we think there is now a clear way forward.'
The FBU, however, is calling on the employers to re-examine the proposals, which they claim were rejected in a 'knee-jerk reaction'.
'A small group of the employers came to this conclusion without consulting widely,' an FBU spokesman said.
The union is now consulting all its members on the plans and has pledged no strike action while the Iraq war continues.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister quashed speculation that a Bill to impose a pay settlement on firefighters had been shelved. 'We are pressing ahead with the Bill and are waiting for a date for a second reading,' a spokesman said.
PFapr2003
