You will be aware that the review of Normal Pension Age for firefighters was due to report by the end of December 2012. Following a slight delay, this report from Dr. Tony Williams has now been published in readiness for a meeting of the Firefighters Pensions Committee on 17 January.

The final document is now available to read on the FBU website.  The report includes on an executive summary, a series of chapters and a conclusion with recommendations.

Key Findings

The most significant things for FBU members to note from the Williams report are:

• The report does not provide evidence to support the government proposals for a Normal Pension Age of 60 for the firefighters’ scheme from 2015.
• The report argues that the only way such a change in NPA could be achieved is by significant changes in policy in relation to entry standards; improved monitoring of fitness levels and health; improved arrangements for fitness training and monitoring; and a range of other measures.
• A Normal Pension Age of 60 for the majority of the current workforce (including members of the NFPS) would mean that large numbers of members would be unable to achieve pension age.

It is important to remember in this regard that:

• The review was initiated and commissioned by the Westminster government.
• The Chair (Dr. Williams) was appointed solely by the CLG Fire Minister. Other organisations (including the FBU and the Fire Service employers) played no role in his appointment.
• Although the FBU (and the employers) have attended meetings with Dr. Williams and his team, the findings and conclusions of this review are his alone.

The significance of these factors is that despite this being a review entirely established by CLG it clearly does not provide support for current government policy in relation to firefighter pensions.

FBU Involvement

The FBU has submitted considerable amounts of evidence to the review based upon the research we have commissioned and undertaken. No other organisation in the Service, including the Fire Service employers, has carried out the level of research undertaken by the FBU on your behalf. Officials have also attended two meetings where representatives of the employers and the employees were invited to discuss the review and some early drafts with the review Chair, Dr. Williams. At these meetings the FBU were the sole representatives of the employees.

The NPA Review Document

The report is heavily focused upon fitness standards. This was a concern raised earlier by the FBU in various letters to the Chair and to the (CLG) Fire Minister as well as being highlighted at the most recent Firefighter Pension Committee.

While the review highlights areas that are problematic and have been challenged it does make several recommendations and observations around fitness standards and selection processes which are supportive of our arguments and which add weight to our consistent arguments about the ability of firefighters to be able to work beyond 55.

Most importantly the report does not provide support for current government policy: i.e. that the NPA of 60 is appropriate and can be justified on medical/health/fitness grounds.

Overall the report suggests there are various problems for current firefighters in relation to their ability to reach NPA 60 although it suggests a model for potentially achieving it for some in the future. It also outlines that there will be significant problems for women maintaining fitness to the NPA 60.

Current Employees

Several areas of the report highlight the difficulties facing current employees in relation to an of NPA 60:

• Most of those already in the FPS will not be fit enough to work to 60 (12.2.5 p.143);
• Many of those in the NFPS will not be fit enough either (11.5.6 p.139);
• Most women firefighters are not fit enough to work to 60 (11.5.5 p.138);

In addition to this the recommendation in the Executive Summary is very unhelpful to the government proposal for an NPA 60.

It recommends:

Fitness selection at recruitment – FRSs should consider informing –applicants that those whose fitness is close to 42 mL∙kg-1∙min-1 are unlikely to maintain fitness to NPA unless they are able to increase their level of physical activity and/or reduce their body mass index.

The impact of this is likely to affect large numbers of current firefighters who have been recruited under current standards. For example the National Firefighter Selection Tests are built around tasks which use VO₂ 42 as a benchmark. In other words Dr. Williams is clearly stating that the current recruitment and fitness standards cannot sustain a Normal Pension Age of 60. Firefighters who meet these standards on recruitment and afterwards, will be unlikely to be able to meet the same standards as they approach the age of 60. This clearly applies to the majority of current firefighters.

The report also suggests that these firefighters should be able to “leave after age 55 on a pension that is actuarially reduced from age 60 without any additional penalty” (12.8.4 p.145) although it is entirely unclear what this means. This is one of several areas where clarification is being sought.

In summary the unstated conclusions are:

• The NPA cannot be raised to 60 given the occupational nature of firefighting; the physical demands of operational firefighting; the fitness profile of existing firefighters.
• NPA of 60 can only be imposed if Fire Service employers are prepared to dismiss significant numbers of firefighters.

Future Employees

The report includes suggestions about how NPA of 60 could be achieved in the future. While the FBU may disagree with and challenge these suggestions, they include:

• Development of a new national fitness standard;
• Informing those recruited at 42 VO₂max that they are unlikely to maintain fitness until NPA 60 without lifestyle changes;
• Regular fitness testing;
• At least 2.5 hours of training a week is incorporated into the daily routine of wholetime firefighters. It also suggests appropriate support and opportunities for fitness training should be provided for firefighters working the Retained Duty System but does not clarify what this entails.

The Union is considering these suggestions and recommendations and is taking legal advice around several areas.

Protection

The review also adds weight to the FBU argument that the current proposals on protection are inadequate. It recognises that people who have been recruited with different expectations may struggle to maintain fitness to NPA 60 and suggests in paragraph 11.5.4 page 138:

Some firefighters will have joined under the expectation that they will retire at age 55 or earlier but have now been told their normal pension age will be 60.  This could be seen to be unfair, even though the Government has decided that an increase pension ages across the public sector is reasonable and fair.  Not all firefighters will be able to maintain physical fitness. People do not age at a standard rate, some will find it harder than others to keep physically fit.  A possible option to consider here is to give more protection to those who are members of the 1992 Firefighter Pension Scheme.

Overall View and Next Steps

It is clear on any reading that Dr. Williams has presented government with a report which does not provide support for their current policy. We have consistently argued that:

• There was no evidence which supports an NPA of 60;
• The cost ceiling and other key issues should not have been set until this issue had been resolved.

We have also:

• Continued to provide detailed professional evidence which supported our case.
• Committed significant resources to Dr. Williams’ review process.

Working until 60 – Implications

In an attempt to try and show how an NPA of 60 might be achieved the Williams report creates a whole further series of huge difficulties for Fire Service employers and for government policy.

It is clear that his recommendations on new standards and new systems:

• Could only be applied to future employees;
• Rely on a nationally consistent physical training/ assessment regime (which does not exist in the real world of the UK Fire Service);
• Rely upon a potentially unlawful discrimination of setting an unnecessarily high entrance standard;
• Would eliminate almost any chance of recruiting women into the Service and would thereby roll back decades of work around equality issues.

Most significantly his recommendations would rely on the ability of employers to dismiss a significant number of individuals on capability style dismissals. This is something which all parties to earlier discussions stated they would not support.

Next Steps

These are only some of the areas that mean that this report does not provide support for government policy:

• It has taken a considerable amount of effort from the union to reach this point and the next steps will be very important.
• This is a preliminary analysis of the report. Further work is underway
• The (CLG) Fire Minister is now considering options in relation to the report. We shall seek an early discussion with him on these.
• We shall provide further briefings for members and for MPs and other politicians.

This campaign is clearly reaching a crucial stage. We have fought long and hard against these unjust attacks on our pension rights. At every stage we have provided hard evidence which has undermined the government’s case against us. We also currently face further unjustified increases in pension contributions. It is essential that all members are kept aware of these developments and are fully involved in the next stage of our campaign to defend pension rights.

Best wishes.

Yours fraternally

MATT WRACK
GENERAL SECRETARY
MW/sll

Angry West Yorkshire fire crews have organised a rally and march around Leeds city centre to raise awareness and protest at the cuts being proposed to the front line emergency service.

This year’s proposed cuts include:

• closing 11 fire stations (and building just five new ones)
• a loss of 12 front line appliances
• the loss of 250 operational firefighters with another 20 of those being compulsory redundancies. This is on top of last year’s cuts that the fire authority approved which were:
• close 10 fire stations (and build just five new ones)
• get rid of seven front line fire appliances and;
• reduce the number of operational fire fighters by 135, including 20 compulsory redundancies.

If the latest proposals are approved by the fire authority it will mean that in twelve months they have agreed to close 21 fire stations and replace them with just 10 new ones, there will be 19 less fire appliances to respond to emergencies and up to 350 less frontline firefighters available.

West Yorkshire FBU brigade secretary David Williams explained

“Firefighters are angry because these cuts will double the size of some station grounds which in turn will slow response times. In emergency situations every second counts, a few seconds delay can be the difference between saving a savable life or failing to save it. Small fires will develop into large fires and increase the risk to firefighters there to deal with them.

“West Yorkshire firefighters and members of the public will be marching to show those that sit on the fire authority the strength of feeling against these cuts. They also want to send a message back to central government that their false promises of no cuts to frontline services is absolute nonsense and in reality, as a result of them slashing budgets, emergency front line services are also being slashed to life threatening levels. All we are asking is a fair settlement to provide a fire service that’s fit for purpose for our communities”.

***ENDS***

Media Contact:

David Williams 07967105224

Rally to assemble outside of the Art Gallery, The Headrow, Leeds at 12.30 prompt

FBU members and officials are assembling at the Central Hall, Westminster at 11.30 for the rally, with speakers including FBU general secretary Matt Wrack, Kate Hoey MP, John McDonnell MP and Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary. This will be followed by meetings with MPs to discuss fire service cuts and firefighters jobs, pensions and conditions.

All enquiries to FBU national officer Dave Green 0208 541 1765.

Dear Brother/Sister,

What is the purpose of this survey?

In May 2011 the FBU commissioned YouGov to run an online survey to gather evidence from FBU members about their attitude to the Government’s proposed changes to the firefighters’ pension schemes. The results of this survey provided the union with a great deal of evidence, which has been used to challenge the government over their proposals.

In April 2012 the government imposed an employee contribution increase (which represented 50% of their initial proposal) and agreed that they would review the effects of the first year contribution increases before making any decision on any further increases. Although any increase in employee contribution is unwelcomed and completely unjustified, it is notable that the Firefighters Pension Schemes were the only unfunded public service scheme which did not suffer the full increase. This was a direct result of the work done by the FBU and the evidence that the YouGov survey allowed us to build.

The challenge on pensions is far from over and we are facing a proposal to increase the employee contributions again in April 2013 and an imposed Firefighter Scheme in 2015. This new scheme would include an increase to normal pension age for many FBU members. Government is currently considering a public service pensions Bill which proposes several detrimental changes to the fire service pension schemes.

A small number of members have already had an opportunity to attend forums on pensions initiated by central government. These were designed to gauge the attitude of pension scheme members towards these proposals. You will also be aware that the FBU is currently submitting evidence to a Normal Pension Age review which is due to report its findings by the end of 2012.

The FBU remains totally committed to maintaining quality pension schemes for all our members and has been firm in its position that many of the suggestions in the Hutton Report and in the Government’s proposals are unacceptable, unsustainable and unfair.

We have commissioned a further survey which will allow you to express your views on what your pension scheme means to you and how you may react to the proposed changes. It is simple to access online and it will only take a few minutes of your time to complete.

How do I take part?

You can type in this URL address www.yougov.co.uk/fbu-pensionssurvey or go onto the FBU website www.fbu.org.uk where you will be directed to it from the homepage.

It takes a couple of minutes, the questions are straight forward and are designed around your particular pension scheme whether you are in the 1992 Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (FPS), the 2006 New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (NFPS) or the Local Government Pension Scheme.

It is very important that you take part and that you give your considered responses to the survey.

Why use YouGov?

YouGov is a respected independent polling organisation and the information we obtain from this survey can be used to highlight our members’ attitudes without giving anyone the opportunity to say it is biased or distorted.

Please only fill in the survey once and do not use the same computer as any colleagues as the survey is designed to highlight repeat responses from one source. (I.e. try to avoid using any work computers)

The survey will be live from midday 29 October 2012 and close at midday 16 November 2012 and you will get several reminders to take part.

Why should I bother?

Your views are extremely important to us and if we are to conduct an effective campaign against these proposed changes we need to understand the strength of feeling of all members and use any information we gather to formulate a strategy.

There may be a particular proposal that you are strongly opposed to and this may even mean you have to consider your continued membership of your current scheme. If this is so we need to know.

The information that was gathered from last year’s survey was crucial to developing our evidence and our arguments. The FBU is the only organisation in the fire service that is submitting evidence of this detail and quality. We have a big challenge ahead of us but the reviews give us an opportunity to make sure that evidence such as that gathered using these surveys is taken into consideration.

Around 8000 FBU members took part in the survey last year – we need to ensure that as many members as possible fill in the survey and highlight their feelings.

What happens with the information?

Part of the work YouGov are undertaking is to gather the information and produce a report on FBU members’ attitudes towards the proposals for future pension changes. This report will be an extremely valuable tool that we can use to defend the future pension provisions of its members.

This is only one step in any campaign but it is a vital step and one that you need to take part in – please take part and make your views heard.

Please take a few minutes of your time to complete this survey – this is a chance to highlight your feelings towards the Government’s future plans for your pension scheme.

Best wishes.

Yours fraternally

MATT WRACK
General Secretary

Fire engines could soon be off the road in Surrey because of acute crew shortages caused by lack of investment by Surrey County Council, the Fire Brigades Union has warned.

Richard Jones, FBU Surrey brigade secretary said: “We need investment now to ensure that the fire service provides the five crew members on every fire appliance that the council agreed to last June but instead the service is under an imposed freeze on recruitment due to lack of funding. This pledge was set out in the County Council’s Integrated Risk Management Plan, passed after full consultation with the people of Surrey”.

But the crews of five on every fire engine pledge is not being honoured – prompting the FBU to speak out and alert the public. “We are now down to four firefighters on virtually every appliance, which is the minimum allowed. This is putting firefighters and the public at greater risk,” Jones added. “If the crewing establishment in Surrey drops any further, appliances will have to come off the run altogether. It could happen anytime soon, putting people and property at risk along with fire fighters.

“We need to see investment in crew levels now. We need the recruitment freeze lifted and the numerous vacancies filled. But instead we have been told the freeze on recruitment will be in place for the foreseeable future. We are also experiencing cut-backs in safety critical training. We need investment now – not cuts. The people of Surrey are paying for properly crewed fire appliances through their council tax, but this is not being delivered.”

The FBU’s warning came as Surrey County Council’s cabinet gave the go ahead for a pilot to link up with a private search and rescue company Specialist Group International in the first deal of its kind in the UK.

“If the money can be found to fund this pilot scheme with the private sector, why can’t it be found to fund fully crewed fire appliances throughout the county?” Jones said. “The investment in crewing levels is needed now. Is it ethical to use money collected from council tax to fund private companies when Surrey fire and rescue service does not have adequate funds to crew its fire engines properly?”

***ENDS***

For more information contact

Richard Jones on 07769249097

The long-running industrial dispute in Essex fire and rescue service has been brought to an end following months of detailed negotiations.

Fire crews voted 2 to 1 to accept the settlement terms negotiated and recommended by their union leaders.
Keith Handscomb, FBU executive council member: “This has been a very bitter and the longest running dispute in fire service history. Negotiators from both sides deserve credit for overcoming deeply held differences to negotiate the compromise terms needed to settle the dispute and to lay the foundations for rebuilding industrial relations.

“The challenges ahead are huge as the fire and rescue service faces the most severe cuts ever in central government funding.

“The union and frontline firefighters in Essex continue to hold serious concerns over the reduction of the wholetime fire crews at Canvey Island and Brentwood and as a consequence the speed and weight of 999 response to emergencies. But, the negotiated settlement includes written assurances from the chief fire officer to maintain the overall numbers of wholetime firefighters across Essex up to March 2015 and beyond, subject to central government funding being no worse than already projected.

“The settlement also includes new terms and allowances underpinned by agreements on a detailed framework for improving industrial relations going forward. It’s early days but, bit by bit, relations are starting to get better and so it is now up to both sides to take this opportunity to work together in facing the considerable challenges that lie ahead.”

***ENDS***

Contact:

Keith Handscomb 07730 – 435633
Alan Chinn-Shaw (Brigade Chair) 07967 – 720363

The Fire Brigades Union is raising the alarm over unprecedented risks to public safety posed by deep and dangerous cuts to the fire service. The warning comes as firefighters prepare to join tens of thousands of people tomorrow on TUC marches for a Future That Works in London, Glasgow and Belfast.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, urged the public to join firefighters in defending stations threatened with closure and to speak up for investment in Britain’s world class emergency fire service. He will be joining FBU colleagues on the London march.

“The public has already lost around 1,500 frontline firefighters since 2010, despite David Cameron’s hollow eve-of-election promise that there would be no cuts to the firefighting frontline. If the Con Dem government’s reckless austerity drive continues, we could see frontline firefighter jobs slashed by 20 per cent since Cameron made his empty meaningless pledge.

“People deserve to have their lives, homes and businesses protected. As firefighters, we have a duty to spell out to the public the risks of ever-deepening cuts. More cuts will mean slower response times to emergencies, putting lives, homes and businesses at greater risk. Response times are almost two minutes slower on average than a decade ago.

“If there is no local fire station, response times will be even longer. Delays cost lives. That’s why people should make sure they join with firefighters to campaign to keep stations threatened with closure open.”

Hundreds of FBU members are expected at the TUC marches and rallies to protest against the government’s austerity policies, calling for an alternative economic strategy that puts jobs, growth and people first.

The campaign to secure a better future for the million young people currently without work will be at the forefront this weekend. Matt Wrack, who will be marching in London, said: “Recruitment in the fire and rescue service is at a virtual standstill. Many talented public-spirited young people are being denied a popular and worth-while career choice. Some of those young people now claiming job seekers allowance because they can’t get work should be training up as firefighters instead of signing on. We need to invest in the future of the service – and that includes investing in the coming generation of firefighters.”

***ENDS***

For interviews or more information contact:

Helen Hague 07889 792360

The plans, which were revealed in a leaked document, look set to be put before a meeting of the London fire authority on 22 November. The brigade was told by the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to save £65m over two years, and senior managers have been working on proposals to meet that demand.

The FBU’s regional secretary for London, Paul Embery, said: “These proposals present the biggest threat to the London Fire Brigade since the days of the Luftwaffe and would lead to the decimation of fire cover in London. The stations under threat of closure have stood proudly for generations, protecting local residents from bombs, fire and terrorism, yet Boris Johnson is about to hammer a ‘For Sale’ sign on to their front doors.

“Such a huge cut cannot be made without there being an impact on public safety, and we call on Londoners to join with us in defending our fire service.

“All around the country, chief fire officers are beginning to warn publicly of the danger of catastrophic cuts. So far, the commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, Ron Dobson, has remained silent, but surely now it is time for him speak up.

“The London Fire Brigade is a proud organisation with a fine history. But it is now facing possibly its greatest challenge. Its leaders must do the right thing and tell the politicians these cuts are wrong and dangerous. If they don’t do it, the FBU will.”

***ENDS***

Contact

Paul Embery 07854 998 508

Notes to editors
List of stations earmarked for closure: Acton, Belsize, Bow, Clapham, Clerkenwell, Downham, Islington, Kensington, Kingsland, Knightsbridge, New Cross, Peckham, Silvertown, Southwark, Westminster, Whitechapel, Woolwich.

List of stations which would see a reduction in their firefighting capability: Chingford, Hayes, Leyton, Leytonstone.

The Fire Brigades Union warns that Tuesday 16 October will be a sad day for Felixstowe as councillors seem poised to agree the permanent cut of immediate, full time fire cover at the fire station.

On the 16th of October, Suffolk County Council Cabinet will meet and are expected to agree the decision to remove the immediate full-time emergency response capability in Felixstowe.

Only four firefighters will remain on station until at least 2014, but they will only assist the on-call firefighters in raising a crew. On-call firefighters do a tremendous job but they are inevitably delayed in responding to 999 calls. On-call firefighters live and work away from the fire station and must stop what they are doing to make their way through traffic and weather to the fire station before they can climb aboard the fire engine to respond to emergencies. A slower response to 999 calls in Felixstowe is inevitable.

No matter how this decision will be portrayed; it is the end of Suffolk County Council providing full-time (and therefore guaranteed) immediate fire service cover within the town.

Andy Vingoe, chair of Suffolk FBU said:

“It’s the end for Felixstowe. Everyone in the fire service knows this is a foregone conclusion. The councillors will inevitably pass the recommendation, and Felixstowe as a community will undoubtedly suffer. We were told by the government, ‘no front-line cuts’ but how much more front-line can you get? This move is bad for business, it is bad for residents, and it is bad for visitors, all of which will wait longer for a fire engine when they desperately need one.”

***ENDS***

Contact:

Andy Vingoe 07967 041039