Submitted by SWFBU on
18TH April 2013
TO: ALL MEMBERS – DEVON & SOMERSET FIRE BRIGADES UNION
Dear Brother/Sister,
FORMAL FBU RESPONSE TO DSFRS CUTS PROPOSALS
Please find attached a copy of the FBU's formal written response to the package of cuts outlined within the Devon & Somerset Corporate Plan. This document has been developed and written by seeking the views of FBU members throughout the Service and by attending countless meetings at our Fire Stations and workplaces across the Brigade. The document therefore represents the real voice of the professionals who make up, and deliver our Service.
Our conclusion is clear and unequivocal: The package of cuts being proposed will undermine our ability to deliver an effective Fire Service and will compromise the safety of the public and firefighters. On this basis we demand that the Fire Authority rejects these plans.
We have submitted this response to the Service and provided copies to the Chair of the Fire Authority, all members of the Fire Authority, Chief Fire Officer, Members of Parliament and made it available to all candidates in the forthcoming local elections. I am asking that all members now use this document and your professional knowledgeto make sure that each and every one of the councillors who may be sitting on the Fire Authority in July, rejects these dangerous proposals.
Although the consultation period is now closed, the campaign is far from over and I am asking all members to continue to play a full part in overturning these dangerous plans. To date, by working together, we have achieved incredible levels of public support and I want to thank all members and officials at a local and regional level who have worked so hard and fought so well for our Service. We now need to ensure that the politicians involved are left in no doubt that these proposals are unacceptable to the professionals and the public alike.
The response from members so far has been second to none and I am extremely proud to represent you, so on behalf of the Brigade Committee I am pleased to endorse our response to DSFRS Corporate plan.
Yours fraternally,
TREVOR FRENCH
DEVON & SOMERSET BRIGADE SECRETARY
