For my report I will be analysing the recent events of the fire brigade strike. To start off it is important to address the reasons what they are going on strike.

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Amanda Reid        BH 241 – Industrial Relations        Tutor: Brian Critchley

ID NO: 01009297

Industrial relations – analysis of the Fire Brigade strike

For my report I will be analysing the recent events of the fire brigade strike.  To start off it is important to address the reasons what they are going on strike.

Since 1978 firefighters pay was linked to manual work, since the initial link from more than 25 years ago, their pay had fallen in real terms whilst the demands placed on them had increased in the skills used, total training required and the number of incidents they attend .  It has been noted that their jobs have been classified as “professionals”, however their pay does not reflect this.  The fire fighters want a fair deal.

Throughout this assignment I will be linking issues of the industrial dispute to with topics discussed in lectures.  These include trade unions, collective bargaining and strikes & industrial action.

Why does the FBU want 40%? 

Unions say the present pay scheme - which was agreed after the last national strike in 1977 - is outdated and members are losing out.

Governments reason for not giving in to the 40%

Tony Blair stated that if they were to give the increase that the Fire Brigade union is asking for they will have to give to all public services which are not possible in practice.  

Trade unions

There are many different organizations that are able to represent the employers and the employees, for the fire brigade their union is the fire Brigade Union (FBU).  The features of the union are it is registered, they are highly interested in collective bargaining and the protection of its members interests are its main function.  They are also prepared to take industrial action to further its member’s interests.  This will be later discussed in the report in more detail.

 In a business situation the function of the Fire Brigade Union goes in more depth in regards to their function, these include

  • Obtaining satisfactory pay rates.  They are currently in negotiations of increasing the pay of Professional fire fighters from £29,531 to £30,000.  This is represented as a 40% pay increase.

This is a highly substantial pay rise however the fire fighters have justified their reasons for this.  The claim that has been put forward by the trade union representative is there are more risks than ever especially chemical and terroiriost acts are more prone to happen than 25 years ago.

Andy Gilchrist who is the General Secretary for the fire brigade union stated on the 18th April 2002 that FBU members have been arguing for a number of years that their pay is falling behind that of other workers.

The average UK earnings are currently £25,400 per annum.

Source: www. 30kfirepay.co.uk

Looking at the table it clearly shows that fire fighters earn below the UK average annual earnings.

Fire Fighters and Fire Control Operators pay has fallen to a point that they are now able to claim  This is highly unacceptable for a profession that has been classified as professional.

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The FBU are in talks with the employers and the government.  Both parties agree that a pay increase in needed but the 40% which the union is asking for is too much of a big claim.  The government where playing their role behind the scenes of the negotiations, why is this?

The consequences of this tactic by the government caused the go ahead for the strikes, the government blocked a pay offer by the fire service employers which could have started the first step towards negotiations.

During the dispute the trade unions does have its advantages and ...

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