[A-List] UK labour militancy & public order

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

Swinney draws heat over SNP line on fire strike
Labour criticises leader as he urges pay formula, writes MURRAY RITCHIE and
BILLY BRIGGS
The Herald, 23 October 2002

JOHN Swinney, the leader of the SNP, came under attack yesterday over his
stance in the firefighters' pay dispute and was asked to clarify his party's
position.

Party political temperatures rose when Mr Swinney visited firefighters in
Cambuslang, near Glasgow, and was accused by Labour of seeking publicity for
himself.

In a letter to Mr Swinney before his trip to Cambuslang, Andy Kerr, the
public service minister, challenged the SNP leader to say whether he
supported the firefighters' claim for a 40% pay rise or whether he backed an
independent review proposed by the government.

The SNP leader said the government should step aside to allow negotiations
to continue, and called for the introduction of a new pay formula and a
"commensurate" level of pay for firefighters.

But Mr Kerr said: "If he supports the pay claim he must tell us how he would
pay for it and the subsequent pay claims. If he supports the review, he must
call on the firefighters to postpone their action until the review is
completed."

However, Mr Swinney said after meeting firefighters: "We think there should
be a negotiation between local authorities and the fire service to decide
what the pay should be and that that process should be allowed to take its
course without the interference of government."

Jack McConnell, first minister, called for the Fire Brigades' Union to take
part in the independent review. Speaking before taking part in a ministerial
summit at Downing Street, he said: "The FBU should contribute take part in
that inquiry, rather than call a strike that could be so damaging."

The summit, of ministers from Westminster and all the devolved parts of the
UK, was on the subject of public services, but the fire dispute was expected
to be high on the agenda.

The Tories said the Scottish Executive had to ensure the armed forces had
access to fire service equipment and facilities during any stoppage. Lord
James Douglas-Hamilton, the Tory justice spokesman, said: "They (firemen) do
not own Scotland's fire engines and cutting equipment and, therefore, have
no power to prevent our armed forces from using such equipment to attend
emergencies and save lives."

The comments came as rival fire unions in Scotland waged a war of words over
the stoppages, with the retained firefighters' role under particular
scrutiny.

The mainstream FBU and the no-strike Retained Firefighters' Union each
claimed to be making recruitment gains at the expense of each other.

Scotland has some 7000 firefighters, of whom about 4500 are full-time and
2500 are retained, or part-time.

The FBU claims to represent 90% of the retained firefighters while the RFU
claims a Scottish membership of as many as 800. In rural areas, some
stations are manned entirely by retained firefighters.

In Grampian, four of the retained stations - Elgin, Peterhead, Dyce, and
Kintore - will be taking part in the stoppages but 33 other stations will
not, according to Mike Morrice, the deputy firemaster. "They are going to
continue to protect the communities they are there to serve," he said.

John Curran, the Grampian brigade FBU secretary, said the vast majority of
retained firefighters in the FBU would be taking part in the dispute, and
that his union had been making big recruitment gains in recent months.

But the claims were rejected by Walter Stewart, Scottish regional secretary
of the RFU, who said it was his union that was making recruitment gains.