Submitted by SWFBU on
20 October 2010
TO: ALL MEMBERS
Dear Brother/Sister
RESILIENCE/CONTINGENCY CONTRACTS
I am sure that all FBU members will be aware of the scale of challenges we face over coming months. We face attacks on our pay, our conditions, our jobs and our pensions. All of this is as a result of the most determined cuts agenda in living memory. The very future of our profession and service is at stake.
In this context we are aware that a number of Fire and Rescue Services are discussing the issues of ‘contingency’ or ‘resilience’ arrangements. For example, in the London Fire Brigade, this has resulted in a contract being awarded to a private company to provide so-called ‘emergency fire crew’ in certain situations.
In other services, individuals have been approached regarding proposed ‘resilience’ or ‘contingency’ contracts. These contracts are designed to ensure that certain individual employees provide additional ‘emergency’ cover in certain situations.
The justification for these contracts is often claimed to be the threat of major terrorist incidents or disease epidemic or pandemic. However, it is well known that the real intention is to provide cover in the event of industrial action by the FBU.
It is important to note that we are unaware of any occasion when the Service has been unable to respond to any major disaster or been unable to address problems raised by widespread illness. In any case there are already provisions within the Grey Book for recall to duty arrangements.
At no time have the Employers approached us with any evidence of problems relating to epidemics, pandemics or terrorist threat. Instead, it appears that individual Employers wish to ignore national negotiating procedures once again. However, we are also aware that in a number of cases, ‘resilience’ or ‘contingency’ contracts have been drawn up without any discussion with local officials of the Union.
In this context we are continuing to look at the many serious implications of the various proposals, and at this time we recommend in the strongest possible terms that members should give no indication to principal managers of whether you would be willing to sign any such document.
We recommend that any such approaches are reported to local officials of the Union who can discuss the matter with principal mangers or their negotiators.
The FBU and our lawyers have a number of grave concerns with many aspects of what is being proposed both for the Union, the Service and most important of all, for individual members.
Our concerns include:
• The implications for the individual’s existing contract posed by the signing of, a ‘resilience’ or ‘contingency’ contract.
• The inappropriate terms and conditions being offered.
• The silence on a number of key employment matters.
There are wider concerns:
• Business continuity concerns are matters which a Public Service Employer must consider, but there are a number of ways to address this without individualised open-termed secondary contracts. This might include negotiating collective recall to duty arrangements with the FBU.
• The link with Employers’ desires at a national level regarding drastic changes to terms and conditions for Middle Managers, including the flexible duty allowance.
• The fact that individual Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRA’s) are putting these arrangements in place at a time when we face drastic changes to the Firefighters Pension Scheme and the Local Government Scheme (LGPS), which will adversely affect all members and specifically Middle and Senior Managers.
• The fact that these plans to adversely affect pensions arrangements will be pursued with increased vigour by CLG if resilience contracts are signed.
• Improving our members’ position on pay in the short and longer term will be made more difficult against a backdrop of FRA’s having resilience arrangements in place.
• That all negotiations will be undermined if Employers feel encouraged that they can get individual contracts signed on conditions which are worse than those which could be achieved by collective bargaining.
There is no immediate necessity for your FRS to insist on such resilience contracts being signed. Any concerns which the Employer has should be raised with the FBU.
We urge members not to sign such contracts whilst the FBU continues to look at the legal and industrial issues involved.
We will continue to work closely with all Brigade Officials and will send you further information and advice as and when appropriate or when the position has changed.
Unity is strength.
Best wishes.
Yours fraternally
MATT WRACK
GENERAL SECRETARY
