[A-List] UK labour militancy & public order

["Keaney Michael" <Michael.Keaney@xxxxxx>]

Warning of chaos in fire walk-out
CATHERINE MacLEOD
The Herald, 12 September 2002

CIVIC life in Britain will grind to a halt if the national
firefighters'dispute goes ahead at the end of October, it was claimed
yesterday at the TUC in Blackpool.

Scottish firefighters predict "absolute chaos" if the employers, as
expected, refuse to meet a £30,000-a-year pay demand.

Next week, the Fire Brigades Union, under the auspices of the STUC, will
meet other unions to find out how they will co-operate. Scottish trade
unions are expected to rally in large numbers to the firefighters'
cause.

The firefighters' industrial action, which could take up to 60,000
members out on strike, will threaten major sports events, concerts, and
anywhere else that needs fire cover.

Tam Tierney, Scottish FBU organiser, said: "Without a shadow of doubt,
there will be absolute chaos when the strike goes ahead, and my
guesstimate is that it could start around the end of October."

About 15,000 firefighters, including 700 Scots, will travel to
Manchester today to recommend a ballot on a national "discontinuous"
strike.

A union spokesman disclosed that the terms of the ballot, which is
likely to win the backing of 75% of union members, will allow them to
strike for a week, a night shift, hours, or minutes, whichever causes
maximum disruption. Sources close to the union leadership suggested
there were differences over tactics, with some members of the executive
advocating an all-out strike, but executive members claimed there was a
debate about tactics rather than any division.

Already, Bob Crow, the RMT's general secretary, has promised RMT members
will take strike action if the management of Scot-Rail, the London
Underground, the Tyne and Wear Metro and Liverpool's Mersey Rail cannot
give assurances on fire safety in the event of a firefighters' strike.
He will recommend that the RMT stoppages coincide with the action by
firefighters.

The firefighters believe there is widespread support for their cause,
but there are growing fears amongst trade unionists in Blackpool that
they have overreached themselves with a 40% pay demand.

Not only do some colleagues believe it is easy for the politicians and
employers to dismiss such an ambitious claim, they believe it could
alienate low-paid workers in the public sector who have settled for £5
an hour.

The firefighters have rejected a government review of pay and
conditions, insisting that their case has already been vindicated by
independent research.

To return to 1978 levels of pay, they say they need a 21% rise, which
may at least be regarded as an acceptable starting point for
negotiations.

Speaking in Blackpool yesterday, Andy Gilchrist, the FBU's general
secretary, said: "There is no doubt that the fire services since 1977
have got a much bigger and more fundamental role in supporting civil
society in national life.

"There has been a sea change in the consensus about safety because of
disasters. People go to work and enjoy themselves going about their
daily lives, and they expect professional safety services to be geared
up to dealing with any eventuality."

A spokesman for the Local Government Association, the employers'
organisation, said: "I'm sure Mr Gilchrist is being fairly accurate
about the possible effects of firefighters coming out on strike.

"I think it is a travesty that the FBU and Andy Gilchrist are trying to
hold the country to ransom over a pay claim which is unachievable.

"The best offer on the table is to get involved in an independent pay
review. The question is how much disruption will people wear from a
union which is militant and has its own agenda?"

Teachers have demanded an inflation-shattering 10% salary rise. The
National Union of Teachers said the increase was needed to stem the
exodus of young teachers out of schools in England and Wales. The
government immediately rejected the demand as "unrealistic".

The main classroom unions south of the border said the 133% rise in
applications in Scotland to study teacher training was down to the fact
that newly-qualified staff started on better pay.

Starting salaries in Scotland were £18,000, compared with £17,595,
they said.