Submitted by SWFBU on
On Friday the 12th October the Wiltshire officials along with the Regional Secretary, met with management to discuss the way forward for Wiltshire FRS and we are pleased with the progress made.
The service confirmed that they need to make cuts of approximately £1.8 million by 2014. They are aiming to save £1 million pounds from the station based uniformed side with £400 to £450 in the reduction in the number of uniformed officers and the rest from the corporate side and other savings. They also fear that there is a potential for cuts of another £1 million in the years 2015/16
Management believe that they can achieve this and improve the service to the public. They are looking at 3 main areas: a reduction of station based posts to 140, the creation of community hub stations and the introduction of an RDS salary scheme.
In line with the resolution passed at the Brigade Committee on the 6th August our focus is on: fire cover, conditions of service, fire-fighter safety training and skill sets, and defending jobs.
You will appreciate that, as with all negotiations, some information can be sensitive and that some details need to remain confidential. We raised concerns that unhelpful rumours have been circulating and that this has a detrimental effect on negotiations. Management assured us that these rumours had not come from them. If you hear rumours please contact Brent or Myself and we will raise it formally.
At present there are no dates set for the implementation of any of the suggested changes.
There are two more meetings planned, one on the 24th and one on the 26th October.
A Brigade Committee meeting was held on Monday the 15th October and as always we encourage you give your feedback via your branch rep.
