Nu Labour Apparatchiks destroy fire pay deal
sheff-man | 03.08.2004 14:47
Nu-Labour apparatchiks/councillors pack meeting to destroy Fire pay deal
'Nick Raynsford has stepped in behind the scenes to wreck this deal. He does not want agreement on any terms, he only wants confrontation. He threatened to withdraw the £30 million transitional funding if a deal was reached'
'Nick Raynsford has stepped in behind the scenes to wreck this deal. He does not want agreement on any terms, he only wants confrontation. He threatened to withdraw the £30 million transitional funding if a deal was reached'
Nu-Labour really are the pits, they have started using Stalinist methods to get their way, packing meetings to get the right decision.
02 August 2004
Government packs fire bosses meeting with London councillors to wreck deal reached last week then walk and refuse to meet for six weeks
THE FIRE BRIGADES UNION
… PRESS RELEASE … PRESS RELEASE … PRESS RELEASE …. PRESS RELEASE …
The Government packed a key meeting today with councillors from London Labour Party instructed to wreck a pay deal reached last week. None of these London councilors had ever sat on a fire authority and were acting on Labour party instructions.
The employers voted 13-10 against signing up to a deal they had agreed only last week. If the councillors not entitled to vote had been excluded, the deal would have been agreed in a 10-6 majority on the employers' side.
So many councilors turned up that most did not know each other and there was limited space for the union representatives at the joint meeting. Additional seating had been brought in. During an adjournment the employers walked out. They are refusing to meet for another 6 weeks. Moves to wreck the deal were put in place by Nick Raynsford. He threatened councillors by warning he would continue to withhold £30 million of transitional funding if they reached any deal. In over 110 hours of talks in the last few weeks a deal was reached – backed by the union – which included agreement on new disciplinary and grievance procedures. The talks had concluded successfully last week and there was no hint of a problem signalled to the union. The talks ended last week Thursday, a day early, with agreement reached. The only sticking point – Stand Down time –had been resolved by both sides last Tuesday. The union had agreed to a form of words, proposed by the employers, which they rejected today. No problems were raised between then and the talks today. FBU Assistant General Secretary Mike Fordham said: “I am stunned and angry. We had 14 days of detailed daily talks and reached agreements which the union honoured this morning. A clear agreement was reached. A Government inspired wrecking crew from London has been sent in to destroy this deal and they have done it.
“Nick Raynsford has stepped in behind the scenes to wreck this deal. He does not want agreement on any terms, he only wants confrontation. He threatened to withdraw the £30 million transitional funding if a deal was reached. He has bullied these councilors into adopting a position many of them are disgusted with. All this was happening when we were in talks to try and reach agreement. He has deceived us, the TUC and the councillors who were present. He is driven by vindictiveness, the vilest of motives. We reached a deal with honourable and decent people. This deal has been wrecked by dishonourable and deceitful people lurking in Labour's political shadowland. Our ballot process starts tomorrow. The public will be disgusted at the deceit and dishonesty shown by Government and the councilors who bowed to Raynsford's bullying. They tried a series of wrecking tactics including refusing to back date payments, tried to cancel the meeting then tried to remove councillors from the meeting to void any decision. The public will get a barrelful of lies to justify this. But if they want to know who started this dispute the answer is simple: Nick Raynsford and the London Labour Party.”
National media contact 07736 818100
02 August 2004
Government packs fire bosses meeting with London councillors to wreck deal reached last week then walk and refuse to meet for six weeks
THE FIRE BRIGADES UNION
… PRESS RELEASE … PRESS RELEASE … PRESS RELEASE …. PRESS RELEASE …
The Government packed a key meeting today with councillors from London Labour Party instructed to wreck a pay deal reached last week. None of these London councilors had ever sat on a fire authority and were acting on Labour party instructions.
The employers voted 13-10 against signing up to a deal they had agreed only last week. If the councillors not entitled to vote had been excluded, the deal would have been agreed in a 10-6 majority on the employers' side.
So many councilors turned up that most did not know each other and there was limited space for the union representatives at the joint meeting. Additional seating had been brought in. During an adjournment the employers walked out. They are refusing to meet for another 6 weeks. Moves to wreck the deal were put in place by Nick Raynsford. He threatened councillors by warning he would continue to withhold £30 million of transitional funding if they reached any deal. In over 110 hours of talks in the last few weeks a deal was reached – backed by the union – which included agreement on new disciplinary and grievance procedures. The talks had concluded successfully last week and there was no hint of a problem signalled to the union. The talks ended last week Thursday, a day early, with agreement reached. The only sticking point – Stand Down time –had been resolved by both sides last Tuesday. The union had agreed to a form of words, proposed by the employers, which they rejected today. No problems were raised between then and the talks today. FBU Assistant General Secretary Mike Fordham said: “I am stunned and angry. We had 14 days of detailed daily talks and reached agreements which the union honoured this morning. A clear agreement was reached. A Government inspired wrecking crew from London has been sent in to destroy this deal and they have done it.
“Nick Raynsford has stepped in behind the scenes to wreck this deal. He does not want agreement on any terms, he only wants confrontation. He threatened to withdraw the £30 million transitional funding if a deal was reached. He has bullied these councilors into adopting a position many of them are disgusted with. All this was happening when we were in talks to try and reach agreement. He has deceived us, the TUC and the councillors who were present. He is driven by vindictiveness, the vilest of motives. We reached a deal with honourable and decent people. This deal has been wrecked by dishonourable and deceitful people lurking in Labour's political shadowland. Our ballot process starts tomorrow. The public will be disgusted at the deceit and dishonesty shown by Government and the councilors who bowed to Raynsford's bullying. They tried a series of wrecking tactics including refusing to back date payments, tried to cancel the meeting then tried to remove councillors from the meeting to void any decision. The public will get a barrelful of lies to justify this. But if they want to know who started this dispute the answer is simple: Nick Raynsford and the London Labour Party.”
National media contact 07736 818100
sheff-man
Comments
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Fire
03.08.2004 16:51
Reminds of Arthur and the NUM, determined to have his little Class War and never mind the needs of the members.
Fire
heroes as long as they keep their mouths shut
04.08.2004 10:50
See, firefighters are heroes.. as long as they never join a union, ask for decent wages or conditions, object to having to work longer shifts with fewer staff and worse cover, nor blow the whistle about service cuts that threaten public safety.
And yet you know what? If our would-be union-buster 'Fire' ever found themself caught in an actual fire, guess who would pile in and rescue them without hesitation?
Update from the FBU:
WHY DO WE HAVE TO BALLOT? EMPLOYERS SAY:
NO BALLOT, NO YES VOTE, NO TALKS
National fire service employers say there will be no more talks unless there is a yes vote in the ballot according to usually reliable media reports. Reuters report a spokesman for the employers saying there will be no more talks unless there is a yes vote in the union’s ballot.
The union was formally told yesterday that the employers did not intend to meet the union until the middle of September. It was not immediately clear why they chose that timing and the intention behind it until the Reuters report:
"It is a fact that talks with the FBU cannot be resuscitated this side of the outcome of a ballot," a spokesman for the Employers' Organisation said.
"Whether talks will be started up again really depends on whether there is support within the FBU for discontinuous strike action through the ballot."
Assistant General Secretary Mike Fordham said: “They don’t want to meet unless there is a yes vote in the ballot. A ballot with a yes vote is the only way we can resolve this dispute and the employers have made this clear.
“The public should not be surprised at such a hard line because the talks have been hijacked by those who want to wreck a deal. They have made it clear they don’t want to meet us unless we ballot and unless there is a yes vote.”
Fire Brigades Union:
trade unionist