Firefighters in London set to strike on bonfire night

From the Guardian Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/25/london-firefighers-strike-bonfire-night

Thousand of union members may refuse to work during one of fire service's busiest periods as contracts row escalates



Euston Road fire station in London: the Fire Brigades Union claims its
members face the sack if they do not accept new shift patterns.
Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian

Firefighters in London are planning to strike on bonfire night in an escalating row over contracts, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said tonight.

Thousands of members would refuse to work shifts from 10am on 5 November to 9am on 7 November, covering one of the fire service's busiest periods.

The threat was greeted by claims from the London Fire Brigade commissioner Ron Dobson that emergency fire crews had faced "harassment, intimidation and violence" from "a small minority" of staff determined to sabotage their efforts during the first stoppage on Saturday.

Another eight-hour strike is due to take place next Monday, with the union claiming firefighters face the sack if they do not accept new shift patterns.

Matt Wrack, the FBU's general secretary, said: "We do not want to take this action but we have no choice. The alternative is to allow London's firefighters to become doormats for their employers to walk on. "The long-term safety of Londoners depends on a well-trained, self-confident firefighting force. The chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Brian Coleman, issues calculated insults and says he's relaxed and sacking all of them.

"He and the Commissioner, Ron Dobson, want to run the London Fire Brigade as though it were a Victorian mill. They want a frightened and obedient firefighting force. We simply cannot accept that." Wrack said the London Fire Brigade "should show a little respect" and hammer out a compromise rather than "bullying" staff.
Last Saturday, contract staff crewed 27 fire engines across the capital instead of the usual 150. They responded to 49 incidents during the strike including several fires in homes, according to the brigade.

The brigade alleged there were a number of incidents in which working firefighters were threatened or intimidated, including three motorbikes surrounding one fire engine.

Tim Montgomerie, of the influential Conservativehome website, urged the coalition government to rush through new legislation curbing unions' rights to organise strikes. He said there should be compulsory arbitration in essential public services. "Certain key public sector workers should give up their right to strike and in return the government would accept the arbitration of an independent body - something like Acas - on issues of pay and conditions."

Montgomerie also backed London mayor Boris Johnson's recent call for a ballot threshold of 50% participation in a vote before strike action could be called. The FBU's ballot would have passed this hurdle.