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The
Fire Brigades' Union is calling for a 40% pay rise and have rejected
the 4% they have been offered.
As
the army and their Green Goddesses are mobilised, fears are growing
in Beds, Herts and Bucks that emergency cover may not be sufficient.
Should
this action be allowed? Do they deserve 40 per cent? What's the
answer? Have your say here.
Read
more about this story
See more comments
| Che,
Stevenage |
Friday
24
January, 2003 |
|
| Peter,this
sentence says it all to me “If we know where there is a history
of hoaxes we can send a police car or one vehicle rather than
a full response" - these people WILL put peoples safety at risk
to save money. How many times do you see on the news complaints
about rural policing? These areas are not policed effectively
because it is not cost effective - is this right? are the police
a profit making organisation? No, they are there to protect
the public as we are. They may well be right that large numbers
of calls are hoaxes or more likely false alarms, however it
only takes one of those calls to be legitimate and you get caught
out and people die. I would rather spend an extra pound a week
and know that i will get an appropriate response to my house
and to my family regardless of whether there are idiots in my
neighbourhood putting in hoax calls. Sending police on fire
calls is a recipe for disaster as well, look at the eight day
strike at least 10 police officers suffered smoke inhalation
and had to be hospitalised because they got to incidents before
Green Goddesses. And those 5000 people still in the square mile
are their lives worth nothing? The city is one mile of ONE city
how about all the other residents of london? If you listen to
the ill considered ideas of the all-knowing politicians then
you will see an increase of fire deaths - simple but true. If
you want modernisation then why do the government not demand
a legally binding attendance time for RTA's (Road traffic accidents)
etc or actually fund the fire service for RTA calls? Because
they would have to invest and probably have to have more fire
stations. Modernisation is about progression. Increasing working
hours above 42 per week (averaged), decreasing firefighters,
fire stations and and fire appliances is regression. How can
less of these things mean we can do a better job? After 55 years
of the fire services act Modernisation should mean shorterning
attendance timesand making criteria for attending fire and other
calls tighter. but no as they say someones son or daughter is
an acceptable statistic if it saves X amount of money. Would
you be prepared to accept your son or daughers life as that
statistic? My answer is a firm NO. You may not agree with my
portrayal but this is how it really is - it is about real peoples
lives not numbers on a piece of paper. |
| Peter,
Hemel Hempstead |
Friday
24
January, 2003 |
|
| Peter,Bedford
Firefighters were not invited to partake in the Bain Review,
they were told this is it like it orlump it and sod the lot
of you, and that includes the Public Safety. I agree some changes
should take place, eg:- The fire cover is classified as A to
D risk, A being the greatest and D the least. The governments
have over the years cut the service to the Community and changed
the risk to the point that a lot of residential areas were changed
from A risk to B and some C D Risk areas and now you want cover
again Ask the 5 what and how are they going to do this and who
pays. Another unknown point is that the Fire Service is Funded
to Fight Fire only all other incidents are not funded by the
Government. try harder bud, try harder. |
| John
Smythe, UK |
Friday
24
January, 2003 |
|
| I'm
afraid I must disagree with the comments regarding sending a
Police Car to check out a suspected Hoax Fire Calls, (Fire Crews
DO NOT go to false alarms, we only come back from them), If
in the first place there is a Police car available, which is
very unlikely, (Police Modernisation) they will have to travel
to the address, 5 minutes ? who knows, then discover there is
a fire, then call for the fire service to attend, the nearest
crew have just been called out elsewhere, so they have to be
mobilised from the next nearest station, say 8 miles away, 30
seconds to turn out if wholeltime crew, 3 - 5 minutes if retained,
traveling time in 17 ton fire appliance 10 to 12 minutes. Would
you find that acceptable ? I wouldn't. Just sending one crew
to a building fire is un-accepable due to safety implications.
each fire appliance genrally has a crew of 5 but can turn out
with 4 ! or 6. We are also subject to the Health & Safety at
Work act, so dynamic risk assessments have to be careried out
by the crew commander to decide if a Breathing Apparatus crew
should commit into the building immediately or wether to wait
for back up, again it all depends on the risk to life, the publics
and our own, this is why there are so few firefighters injured
or killed because of the risk assessments that take place on
the ground. If anything does go wrong, the crew commander will
have to justify his actions in a Court of Law. The NHS Consultants
rejected their pay offer and are still employed by the NHS and
still working privately. The NHS Staff are getting a rise of
10% ( an average of 10% actually). You will soon see Paramedics
pay increase from £18k to £27k, I bet you haven't heard that,
because its being kept quiet. |
| Barbara
Cooke, Hemel Hempstead |
Friday
24
January, 2003 |
|
| Why
do we have such a large Army in this country? SECURITY ! What
have they been doing since the last world war? GETTING READY
FOR THE NEXT ONE So what do they do 24/7? LOOK AFTER OUR COUNTRY!
Why do we need all of them then when we are not at war ? Why
do we need so many firefighters? SECURITY! The next war, Sept
11, Rail Disaters, Underground Disaters So why do we need so
many firefighters ? TO BE PREPARED AND SAVE OUR LIVES ! Why
do we need so many police officers ? SECURITY !Why when an event
like the seige that took part over xmas in London was there
so many police on duty, Why when there is a big sporting event
like a every day game of football are there so many police officers
about ? To stop trouble and protect the public and those who
are putting on a show for them! So why dont we just stop going
on about how many firefighters we dont need, And start thinking
why ! we! need more! REMEMBER WE ALL NEED TO FEEL SECURE IN
OUR LIVES! THAT IS WHAT WE PAY OUR GOVERMENT TO DO FOR US !
So next time you see a soldier, Police officer Firefighter remember
they are our security in this country when it comes to the next
war! How ever large or small it will be! |
| Peter,
Bedford |
Friday
24 January, 2003 |
|
| From
today's Times. "Employer sources pointed out that the sites
of most of today’s fire stations were chosen more than 70 years
ago and were no longer appropriate. Rigorous national guidelines
on fire cover were also old, based on controlling firestorms
caused by bombings. “Many fires now take place on council estates
following arson attacks and on the edge of city areas,” the
source said. “But if there is a fire in a bank in the middle
of a city at night we still send three fire engines to it and
have to respond within three-and-a-half minutes, even though
there is no one in the building and the property is insured.”
While some fire stations will need to be sited in commercial
areas to deal with blazes that break out during working hours,
firefighters could be moved to other stations during the night
when there is less risk to life. The population of the City
of London, for example, is 500,000 during the day but drops
to fewer than 5,000 at night. But the reverse occurs in suburbs,
which are relatively unprotected at night. Research published
in Sir George Bain’s review of the Fire Service shows that most
fires break out between 6pm and midnight, with relatively few
in the mornings. The Fire Service also now spends much more
time rescuing people from traffic accidents, dealing with chemical
spills from industrial plants and answering hoax calls. After
the risk assessments many fire stations in commercial areas
are expected to close while others will be built on motorway
slipways, and near industrial plants and council estates, where
arson is most common. There will also be fewer control centres
handling 999 calls: some fire authorities will merge their centres
and others will run joint ambulance, police and fire controls.
Officials suggested that this would result in a more measured
response to hoax calls. “If we know where there is a history
of hoaxes we can send a police car or one vehicle rather than
a full response,” said one. Hoaxes account for 41 per cent of
calls and firefighters spend only 10 to 15 per cent of their
time fighting fires" All seems very clear to me; changes must
be made. If the Firefighters do not like the implications, too
bad. I think the government is right to demand changes and the
sooner the better. Firefighters were invited to participate
in the Bain enquiry but stubbornly and arrogantly refused. Now
the arguments should stop and like the NHS Consultants either
accept the new conditions or look for another job. |
| Che,
Stevenage |
Friday
24 January, 2003 |
|
| John,
Luton Rob in Saudi is doing his duty for his country and should
be commended it is neither his or any other soldiers fault that
they are commanded by politicians. For the most part people
only formulate their opinion on a subject according to what
they are told, generally by the government, what people need
to do is get a balanced view and to do that i do suggest stopping
and talking to firefighters. Then make your mind up. |
| Che,
Stevenage |
Friday
24 January, 2003 |
|
| Dick
Richardson, the armed services are not the only ones with antiquated
equipment the clansman radio they use is rubbish but compared
to the appliance radios we run with they are brilliant. Ask
this - out of those 40 applicants how many are actually suitable?
I know an administration job that had 73 applicants does that
mean they should drop the salary because obviously they are
paying above the odds? And how many days do our troops sit in
barracks doing nothing through the year? should they not be
deducted a portion of their salary? of course not is the answer.
Its not a criticism of the forces but if you want an immediate
response to a fire at night (the time when you are most likely
to die in a fire) then firefighters need to be on duty at a
station, now i will stay up all night if you wish but at the
end of the day we cannot go patrolling the streets for fires
or knock on peoples doors giving advice at 2 in the morning.
The 4 minutes extra it takes retained crews to turnout IS the
difference between life and death. Please do not be under the
illusion that we are any different to most fire services worldwide
because we are not in fact many have been modelled on ours simply
because it is the best and one of the most efficient. |
| Peter,
Hemel Hempstead |
Friday
24 January, 2003 |
|
|
Dick. You seem to have swallowed all the Government twadle re
the Firefighters Dispute. To the relevant points you have raised.
Of the 40 applicants that apply to join 35 dont make the grade
either physically or mentally or educationally, and probably
you wouldn`t either. As for sleeping on the Job as you put it.
were the military sleeping at night prior to the Iraq affair
waiting for war or were all 100.000 awake. they sleep or nap
as we have done at night waiting for a Firecall and bearing
that in mind they dont attend every call that normally gets
dealt with by the National Fire Service. So they have plenty
of time to sleep. |
| John,
Luton |
Thursday
23
January, 2003 |
|
| Rob
White is not serving his country in Saudi, he is serving a small
band of greedy politicians who are going against the will of
the people and creating an atmosphere of international fear
and retribution. The fireman on the other hand do actually serve
the public, and serve them well. |
| John
Smythe, UK |
Thursday
23
January, 2003 |
|
| I
have a few friends who are Paramedics, They all have said that
it is impossible for firefghters to become Paramedics due to
the training implications. It actually takes 2 1/2 to 3 years
to become a Paramedic, to start you have to be an experienced
Ambulance Technician, then if you pass the selection go on to
Initial training, Then go and do training at the hospital for
12 weeks to learn Intubation and Drug administration and various
other things. Then when you have passed all this you have to
do approx 2 years on the job training before you become a full
Paramedic. You then have to return for a refresher course every
year to update and ensure you are still up to the job. They
also said that having defibrillators is all very well, but they
are not very effective without using the drugs that can only
be administered by a Paramedic or Doctor. The cost of this training
if we went down this route would be massive and would mean a
large increase in staff to cover whilst the firefighters are
doing this training, because you would have to have a minimum
of 3 on a watch trained up to cover for leave, sickness etc,
This would also have a severe impact on their Firefighter training.
|
| Bill,
Stevenage |
Thursday
23
January, 2003 |
|
| To
all Fire-fighters, I say forget public opinion. What right do
we have to judge your decision to strike. The public doesn't
have a clue about the skills or work involved in being a Fire-fighter.
So how can we know what a Fire-fighters worth is. Most people
won't have a clue about the logistics of protecting the community
from fire, flood or any other disaster. They probably haven't
read or understood the Bain review, but critisise you for not
adopting it. And they certainly don’t appreciate what is at
stake if the Government have their way. When Bain is enforced
by the Government, and I have no doubt it will, rest assured
these same people will be criticising you for taking so long
to arrive in their time of need. You have my support, but you
don’t need it. You know what is at stake. I have never needed
your help, and I sincerely hope I never do. But, regardless
of the outcome of the strike, I thank you for trying to protect
the Fire Service. |
| Bill
Stevenson, Stevenage |
Wednesday
22
January, 2003 |
|
| Nigel
- You have your opinions and I respect that. But I would like
to ask you two questions. 1) How much do you think a qualified
Firefighter should earn. 2) Do you believe cutting the number
of Firefighters, appliances and possibly Fire Stations would
improve the level of service given to the community.. |
| Bill
Stevenson, Stevenage |
Wednesday
22
January, 2003 |
|
| Just
as a matter of interest I found this vacancy on the CACFOA website.
HEREFORD AND WORCESTER FIRE BRIGADE PROJECT MANAGER (EQUALITY
AND DIVERSITY) £29,559 - £31,737. How many fires, rescues and
community visits will the successfull applicant attend. And
will he be expected to work shifts or put his life on the line
for the £29,559 - £31,737 salary?. |
| Peter,
Hemel Hempstead |
Wednesday
22
January, 2003 |
|
| Sorry
I had to break off. Nigel Why wont the Government discuss the
Bain Review?? Why wont the Government allow the Pathfinder Report
to be aired in public?? ANSWER it would prove beyond all doubt
that the Government and MPs have LIED in the Commons and to
the media, worst of all they have constantly LIED to the PUBLIC
and FIREFIGHTERS. Sorry, but as the infamous 5 wont talk or
budge then I have no option left, neither will I. |
| Dick
Richardson, Aylesbury |
Wednesday
22
January, 2003 |
|
| The
firefighters are already over-paid, or there would not be 40
applicants for every vacancy. It is not a very dangerous job,
coming 26th in the league of dangerous jobs, with fishing at
the top. Perhaps the seven and a half hours in bed, during each
night "shift", are the attraction. The armed services, operating
with very elderly equipment, and little experience, but adopting
some of the Bain recommendations for co-ordinated control centres,
demonstrate how far the firemen have to go to really be classed
as professionals. |
| Graham,
Cambridge |
Wednesday
22
January, 2003 |
|
| I
think it's important for safety to use the money that was pledged
by the employers to the fireman for more pressing needs, like
stirring up a war in the middle east. After all, how can we
argue that Mrs Tibbs down the road needing her house fire putting
out is more important than smiting down people who don't agree
with you??? At the end of the day it's all about safety and
saving lives. |
| peter,
Hemel Hempstead |
Wednesday
22
January, 2003 |
|
| Nigel
Nice to hear from you again, still not lost your venom then,
now it`s my turn. Following your reading of the reports, ask
yourself and your local MP why the Government has put 19 section
d`s on the pathfinder report, so that the media radio,tv and
papers are not allowed to publcise it however no such problem
arises from bain. To use your own words, and I QUOTE "The Bain
Report may not be perfect, but it seems a much better Document
to use as a basis for Discussions. As it`s not perfect why is
the Government stating that the Bain review is not open to discussion
and all parts of it are non negotiable and will be put in place.
By cutting the service you will not be able to reach the Government
targets of attendance, performance, and effeciency, which we
do at present. By changing the Fire Services Act they will move
the goal posts so that instead of attending in 5 mi! nu! tes
they could say 20 or 30 minutes attendance time. After all they
modernised the Police (oops sorry cut the police Service) and
now they dont do anything about Burglary as this is classed
as a minor crime ask anyone who has suffered it is not minor
to them. |
| che,
stevenage |
Wednesday
22
January, 2003 |
|
| Its
funny Nigel that you should dismiss the Pathfinder Report for
repeating itself something Bain does anyway but perhaps you
should consider the contradictions in Bain. He praises the Fire
Service for being efficent and those within it for being corrageous
then slams them for being inefficient and ineffective at change
and 'modernisation' well if that is so why am i trained to use
the resusitation equipment and defibrillator at my local fire
station that he says we refuse to use? He suggests that Chief
Officers reduce the medical requirements for Retained Firefighters
then in the same section he says that the same higher medical
entry requirements should should apply to all Firefighters.
Then he goes on to say that Retained Firefighters should basically
be on call on a shift basis where they must make every call
during that rota period, then in the same section he concede!
s that Chief Officers may keep the old system because it actually
might work to their advantage. Either its wrong or its right!
All Bain is doing is raking up ideas that are being used around
the country already - if its applicable to one brigade then
others may use it if it solves their particular problem. He
says there will be equal training for the Retained yet most
Retained members struggle to attend courses due to their primary
job does he suggest compensation to the employer so they will
allow their employees to attend vital training such as BA courses
or Basic Recruit courses? No that section convieniently is left
blank of suitable ideas. What he may like to see is Firefighters
skill levels go down, that does not pave the way to keep the
best Fire and Rescue Service in the world - one that is copied
around the globe. Investment is what is required not cuts -
the only reason we are able to use Defibs is because they were
donated to us by Stevenage Borough Council and the British Heart
Foundation. it is an item of kit we would of procured ourselves
but for the cost. Or perhaps the fact we can only scratch the
surface when it comes to Community Fire Safety is because the
budget doesnt stretch to materials for schools and clubs. Even
operationally we struggle to relay vital messages to our control
room because the radio system is so old that parts are not made
for it anymore and spares are cannabilised from old radios and
when they do work you can't hear what is being said because
the blue lights interfere with the signal! I am proud of the
job i do and am trained to do everything because the next job
i get could be anything. I have asked to be paid the equivalent
value to those skills, for me to allow the Fire Service to be
cut and ruined so that it can fund a pay increase that takes
me to the level that the government themselves have put me then
they are mistaken. In the long run the public will pay, twice
in fact, if mr Bain has his way because through your Council
Tax you will buy things like cutting gear and then through your
insurance you will pay for its use. The police, Ambulance Service
and Railways have all been 'Modernised' what a rosy future the
Fire Service Has got! |
| Nigel,
Luton |
Wednesday
22 January, 2003 |
|
John
Smythe, UK: I've read about two thirds of the Fire Cover Review
(Pathfinder Report) and given up. It's the biggest load of drivel
it has ever been my misfortune to pick up. It clearly has been
produced by someone who has been given a time frame and budget
and has made full use of both. If it didn't keep repeating itself,
it could have been produced as a pamphlet. To praise it would
tend to indicate that your interpretive skills are flawed, especially
as the opening pages state that it considers only one option
of many and suggests further investigation into the other options.
The author evidently hopes that he can make a life-long career
out of producing drivel and tweaking software to suit his own
theories. I have previously said that I was surprised at how
quickly the Bain Report was produced, but at least it is concise
and contains the relevant data, as opposed to vague references
to letters and reports which aren't available for inspection.
The Bain Report may not be perfect, but it seems a much better
document to use as a basis for discussions.
In "Firefighters - your questions answered," Patrick McArdle
of Borehamwood Blue Watch has responded to some questions. Can
he explain the cause of the damaged asphalt outside his Fire
Station? Was the brazier positioned over an already-damaged
area or were the firefighters merely acting unprofessionally
by causing fire damage? Do the Borehamwood firefighters expect
the local council tax payers to pay for the repairs?
Peter of Hemel: If you re-read the Pathfinder Report you will
find that as well as saying that the Fire Service is 50% understaffed,
it ALSO says that if the Fire Service were CUT by 50%, there
would be no significant difference. If the FBU is basing its
arguments on the Pathfinder Report, it is already on a loser.
|
| Nigel,
Luton |
Tuesday
21 January, 2003 |
|
| It
seems that a lot of newcomers have entered the forum who haven't
read through the explanations given in the previous pages. The
firefighters aren't asking for £8.50 per hour as a wage - they
are demanding £13.70 per hour. A qualified firefighter already
gets between £9.83 and £10.53 per hour. The starting salary
for a trainee is over £17k - not bad for a school leaver. The
firefighters quote of £8.50 refers to take-home pay - after
tax, NI etc. I won't dispute that a firefighter's disposable
income probably seems quite low, but this is because pension
contributions of 11% are deducted. This appears a lot, but when
you consider that firefighters can retire at 50 (and must retire
by 55), the extra 10-15 years of retirement pay has to be funded
from somewhere. Their employers also contribute 22% of their
salary so the current wage of a qualified firefighter is costing
the council tax payer about £26k. The firefighters' pay demand
of 40%, if fulfilled, would represent a cost for each of about
£40k. Perhaps agreeing to £30k would be a good idea if employers
pension contributions were halted. |
| Che,
Stevenage |
Tuesday
21 January, 2003 |
|
|
As one Minister said 'The deal is non negotiable' so how do
they propose we negotiate a non negotiable deal? The sooner
that the government get off their high horse the sooner we can
meet somewhere in the middle and get a deal that is sensible,
gives us a decent payrise and does away with the considerable
faults and contradictions of Bain that are the real danger to
the public.Bain did not use public safety and prevention of
deaths as his benchmark to 'modernise' the fire service he used
cost and cost alone, which meant he considered X deaths per
thousand pound saved as acceptable which is fine until it is
someone you know who is that expendable life. Ask yourself this
question - How can fewer Firefighters, with fewer fire engines,
in fewer fire stations give a better fire service? And how can
government force brigades to provide that better fire service
when they are currently removing the legal framework that requires
them to perform to that standard - currently 5 minutes for the
arrival of the first fire appliance (section 19 of the Fire
Services Act 1947). |
| Peter,
Hemel Hempstead |
Tuesday
21 January, 2003 |
|
| Bernard
Jenkin tory MP (moronic person) called us irresponsible, I think
it irresponsible that they have made no attempt at solving the
issue, and as for the tory calling us stupid and shameful, The
major payrise to the MPs is irresponsible and shameful as they
do absolutely zip for anyone, and class us the PUBLIC as stupid
for allowing them to get away with it. |
| Lee
Bradbury, MK |
Tuesday
21 January, 2003 |
|
| Peter,
You've just discovered what I have known for many years, our
Members of Parliment are just plain useless. Their's is the
only job that I know of that you can lie your backside off,
get caught and nothing happens to you! If I lied to the extent
that MPs lie I would have been kicked out of every job I've
ever had. Unfortunatly nothing is going to happen because each
MP is as bad as the next; they are an untrustworthy bunch of
'people'. |
| Ian
Sayers, Hemel Hempstead |
Tuesday
21 January, 2003 |
|
| We
hear a lot about the levels of pay, time off etc. I would be
interested to know what the pension arrangements are for firemen?
According to the TUC's own pension calculator recently released,
in order for me to retire on 2/3rds final salary I will have
to contribute about 20-25% of my salary from now until I am
65 to achieve this in my money purchase scheme. My employer
contributes 5% of this, so I have to shell out the remaining
15%-20%. If, as I suspect, the fireman have a guaranteed final
salary scheme (which probably permits them to retire earlier
than 65) should this not be factored into what they are paid.
I believe anyone with a good final salary scheme can effectively
up their "real" salary by at least 15%, probably more looking
at the stock market currently. |
| Trevor
S, Letchworth |
Tuesday
21 January, 2003 |
|
| The
government wants the Fire & Rescue Services to modernise before
they will even consider the small rises that they are proposing.
What modernisations of Westminster did we see for the 48% pay
rise that MPs gave themselves? I'm sure that there would be
more people wanting to become Fire Fighters, Nurses, Paramedics
and Police Officers if they were assured a decent wage. It is
time that we stopped trying to be the major league global player
that the government would want us to be and look within our
borders. Spend more of our tax pounds on the tax payers. Good
luck to the Fire Fighters, let us hope that it doesn't take
a major disaster to open the eyes of Blair, Prescott & Co. |
| Peter,
Hemel Hempstead |
Tuesday
21 January, 2003 |
|
| After
listening to Prescott in parliament, in response to the Strike,
I am now certain that the Infamous Five together with most of
the MP`s are totally INCOMPETENT and unable to comprehend the
seriousness of this dispute. To put it bluntly they have made
no attempt to read the Pathfinder report, which has run over
3 years and covered several Brigades, looking at the future
role of the Fire Service as a whole. Some of the points raised
were that the National Fire Service was 50% understaffed and
that Retained Stations should become full time. Instead the
mindless morons are sticking to an Economists view (bain) of
the Fire Service as a Business, CUT CUT AND CUT AGAIN. When
it all goes wrong they can blame the Firefighters for not meeting
the targets set out by bain. Inept ministers are to blame for
any fault that may arise. |
| Daniel,
Bedfordshire |
Sunday
19 January, 2003 |
|
|
i think its terrible that the firefighters have to strike just
to get some extra few pounds the goverment should think them
selfs lucky that they are only asking a few pounds and not 10
or 15 pounds.the goverment should sit down and think about the
firefighters putting thier own life at risk just to help stupid
and careless people its disgusting they have to ask they should
of been offered. |
| Paul,
Dunstable |
Sat
18 January, 2003 |
|
| Is
this a Rob and Jim fight, I thought it was to do with Firefighters..
I drive for a living and get 8.50 an hour I don't think that
the fbu is asking to much for firefighters to get 8.50 do you??? |
| Janey,
Hitchin, Herts |
Sat
18 January, 2003 |
|
| This
is all very sad. I have so much sympathy for the people who
protect us, whether in the Armed Services, the Police or the
Fire Brigade. All, at some time or other, risk life and limb
but it seems that the firefighters are not being recognised
for THEIR commitment in what are invariably (apart from the
proverbial cat stuck up the tree) gruelling and/or dangerous
circumstances. 4% is a gross insult. This wretched government
has wasted millions of pounds in lost causes and proposes to
waste millions more in a war which will do nothing to enhance
or protect life. Quite the contrary. |
| Peter,
Hemel Hempstead |
Fri
17 January, 2003 |
|
| Chad
So you think I am SELFISH for asking for a pay rise and putting
lives at risk. WE put our lives on the line sometimes to save
people like you, when according to the Government we are not
even classed as an essential service. As for knowing what the
service entailed, yes I did, as did the Nurses and Doctors.
And yes they do deserve a pay rise, but even the Doctors turned
down a substantial payrise which was being forced on them,because
it was linked to even longer working hours and weekend work.
Blair and his theiving cronies made sure they got their grubby
mits on 40% before everything kicked off. The National Fire
Service called off the Strikes before Christmas for Talks (as
per Prescotts plea talk dont walk) the FBU have been at the
talks since then However the Government Dept. couldn`t be bothered
to walk or take the Jaguar to the talks at ACAS.As for reynsford
stating that we were going on strike before the talks had started
is a load of bull. They have known that the Strike was due to
start on the 21st Jan yet they have not made any attempt to
talk to the FBU until the 20th Jan. The DOPEY FIVE have shown
no Commitment to resolving this dispute,as they don`t give a
damn. |
| Lee
Bradbury, CMK |
Friday
17
January, 2003 |
|
| Chad,
you say the Firefighters are being selfish. Do you think they
are selfish when they risk their lives to save people who, normally
through their own stupidity or carelesness, are in need of urgent
assistance? You ask what would happen if airlines, transport
and other companies did the same thing; well I haven't met any
transport service whose members risk life and limb to help people
in distress but I've seen the Postal Union strike for long periods
when one of their members has been suspended for gross misconduct,
I've seen train drivers strike for more money, I've seen teachers
strike for more money and if I put my mind to it I suppose I
could find a few more 'firms' who have gone on strike for more
money. |
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