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19/05/2003
Unison chief backs FBU as talks get underway
The general secretary of the UK’s largest union has called on the government to stop seeking to impose a settlement on firefighters.
Dave Prentis, Unison General Secretary, urged the government to stop "raising the temperature" in the firefighters' dispute by seeking to impose a settlement.
He added: "It [the government] should be adopting a responsible and mature approach to the dispute and allow the local government employers enough flexibility to reach a negotiated settlement. To do anything else is to sour industrial relations and to damage irreparably the goodwill and dedication of Britain's firefighters.”
Mr Prentis said that the firefighters' leaders believed that the proposals made by the independent chair of the fire service NJC could form the basis of a negotiated settlement, and he said that government and employers should “seize that chance instead of trying to prolong the dispute”.
Adding that the FBU had the full support of UNISON, he said: ”We want to see a fair and just deal for the FBU.”
The FBU will meet tomorrow to discuss the outcome of today’s talks with the local government employers.
Ahead of the talks the FBU welcomed “recent dialogue with the employer representatives” as both sides had again indicated their commitment to reaching a negotiated settlement.
Though last week the FBU’s Executive Council agreed a strike strategy which they said was “wholly dependant on the outcome of the employers’ meeting”.
The FBU said: “If on Tuesday there is not the basis of an acceptable negotiated settlement then we will announce the detail of further strike action.”
A recent poll commissioned by the FBU indicated that 71% of people believed that the current performance of the fire service was good.
Some 60% of those polled agreed that instead of using the law, the government should support attempts to resolve the dispute through negotiations and only one third thought that the government was right to impose a settlement against the wishes of firefighters.
While one quarter of those polled supported the government’s plans to reduce the number of firefighters on duty at night, and only one in five believed that an increase in the pay of firefighters should be linked to cuts in the overall numbers of firefighters.
(SP)
Dave Prentis, Unison General Secretary, urged the government to stop "raising the temperature" in the firefighters' dispute by seeking to impose a settlement.
He added: "It [the government] should be adopting a responsible and mature approach to the dispute and allow the local government employers enough flexibility to reach a negotiated settlement. To do anything else is to sour industrial relations and to damage irreparably the goodwill and dedication of Britain's firefighters.”
Mr Prentis said that the firefighters' leaders believed that the proposals made by the independent chair of the fire service NJC could form the basis of a negotiated settlement, and he said that government and employers should “seize that chance instead of trying to prolong the dispute”.
Adding that the FBU had the full support of UNISON, he said: ”We want to see a fair and just deal for the FBU.”
The FBU will meet tomorrow to discuss the outcome of today’s talks with the local government employers.
Ahead of the talks the FBU welcomed “recent dialogue with the employer representatives” as both sides had again indicated their commitment to reaching a negotiated settlement.
Though last week the FBU’s Executive Council agreed a strike strategy which they said was “wholly dependant on the outcome of the employers’ meeting”.
The FBU said: “If on Tuesday there is not the basis of an acceptable negotiated settlement then we will announce the detail of further strike action.”
A recent poll commissioned by the FBU indicated that 71% of people believed that the current performance of the fire service was good.
Some 60% of those polled agreed that instead of using the law, the government should support attempts to resolve the dispute through negotiations and only one third thought that the government was right to impose a settlement against the wishes of firefighters.
While one quarter of those polled supported the government’s plans to reduce the number of firefighters on duty at night, and only one in five believed that an increase in the pay of firefighters should be linked to cuts in the overall numbers of firefighters.
(SP)
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Government makes late bid to avert firefighters' strike
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Government makes late bid to avert firefighters' strike
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