30/08/13 Fire Service strike action -‘Major incident cover’ assurance from local service

OXFORDSHIRE’S Fire and Rescue Service has reassured the public that plans are in place to cope with potential strike action.

The Fire Brigades Union’s (FBU) call for a strike comes after national negotiations on pay and pension reform failed to reach an agreement.

As part of contingency planning, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service had been trying to get an agreement locally, based on a national protocol signed up to by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) with the government in 1979, which allows workers to carry on doing life and business-saving activities during strike action. 

However, to date, the FBU locally have refused to sign up to such a protocol. However, an agreement has been reached between Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and the union to provide major incident cover for emergencies that require eight fire appliances or more and respond to any national emergencies during any potential strike action.

Cllr Rodney Rose, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, has expressed frustration at the union’s decision to ballot firefighters in support of a strike. He said: “It is a real disappointment that we haven’t been able to agree a way forward. I hope that this dispute can be resolved quickly and firefighters can get back to what they want and the public expects, which is to protect the community. At least here in Oxfordshire there has been strong forward planning to mitigate negative impacts of strike action.”

Arrangements in place

Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service has also arranged for emergency cover to be provided by Securitas, who have been specifically trained to support the fire and rescue service, and will include the provision of three fully crewed appliances for the duration of any period of industrial action. This is in addition to the cover already provided by the use of staff that are not engaged in industrial action. 

Control room staff will not be affected by any potential industrial action and will continue as normal.

It is thought Oxfordshire is the only part of the UK outside London that has such an arrangement. Chief Fire Officer David Etheridge said: “Oxfordshire residents should be reassured that we have been planning for some time to develop strong resilience arrangements, which provides me with the confidence to give the assurance that while this will not be our usual response standards that levels of fire cover will be in place for those who have to dial 999 during any strike.”