[A-List] UK labour militancy & public order

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

Fire union loses court challenge to Prescott

Kevin Maguire
Thursday February 13, 2003
The Guardian

Firefighters' leaders yesterday failed to open a legal front in their
industrial and political battle with the government.

The high court threw out a union challenge to ministerial plans to impose
sweeping changes on the fire service.

Judge Alan Moses rejected an FBU call for a judicial review of deputy prime
minister John Prescott's decision to give up his veto over cuts in stations,
engines and jobs. The union had claimed Mr Prescott had breached his
statutory duties by failing to consult the central fire brigades advisory
council before announcing the move.

But the judge dismissed the challenge out of hand, stating the case was
"unarguable" and Mr Prescott had acted within the law. The ruling was a blow
to the FBU, which is locked in talks with the fire employers at the Acas
conciliation service.

Whitehall amendments to the local government bill will be tabled today to
make it easier for stations to be closed, with 4,500 jobs under threat over
the next four years.

The blocking of the legal avenue leaves the union facing the prospect of
negotiating its way out of the dispute or risking an injunction banning
further industrial action.

Mr Prescott's decision to continue with preparations for possible widespread
changes ahead of the outcome of the Acas talks almost scuppered the
discussions over the weekend. A senior member of the employers' team said it
was laying "sensible plans" to keep open all options rather than deciding to
implement specific proposals.

The FBU started striking in November in its fight for a 40% pay rise and is
now seeking a 16% two-year compromise after ministers demanded sweeping
changes in return for an 11% two-year rise recommended by Sir George Bain's
government-appointed inquiry.