BY JIM SPAUL
LONDON - Firefighters in Essex, England, have succeeded in
restricting attempts by the county's Combined Fire Authority
(CFA) to cut jobs and services. The CFA proposed to eliminate
36 jobs, as well as remove one aerial ladder and two foam
tenders. When the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) threatened strike
action, the CFA reduced the proposed job cuts to 16.
FBU members rejected this as well and carried out a series of strikes of varying duration. The first began June 8, when more than 900 members of the Essex FBU walked off the job. After the CFA threatened to sack the strikers for "breach of contract," more than 1,500 firefighters from around the United Kingdom turned out June 12 for a demonstration in support of the walkout. The FBU promised national strike action if the sacking threat was carried out.
The fight of the Essex strikers was to maintain the number of firefighters needed to provide safe and adequate service. Strikers at Chelmsford explained that they could not cover all of the equipment with the cuts the CFA was seeking. The CFA said its cuts would save 1.6 million ($2.7 million). The strike cost the CFA more than 2 million ($3.4 million) in payments for providing stand-in fire cover, including to the British army.
Having rejected the CFA's previous "final offer" by 84 percent, the strikers still faced the threat of the sack. Rejecting what they called "scaremongering" tactics, the firefighters announced seven days of strike action to start on September 17. In response, on September 14, the CFA put forward a new proposal that reduced job losses to eight and maintained the aerial ladder platform at Chelmsford and a foam tender. This was accepted by firefighters at 22 of the 31 Essex FBU branches (locals).
Brentwood FBU member Robert Thomson told the Militant, "It's hard to say we've won when they are still making cuts." But, he added, "The CFA were trying to break the union and we've shown our resolve. We've shown we can get something by going out on strike."
Another FBU member, Kevin, said, "We only went back when we wanted to; they didn't force us back. If they make job and service cuts again next year we will be out again."
Jim Spaul is a member of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union. Celia Pugh contributed to this article.