|
13 Nov 2002 |
Fire Fighters Strike |
|
The Campaign for Socialism executive committee supports the fire-fighters. The Campaign for Socialism condemns the Government's offer to the fire-fighters as derisory. The Campaign for Socialism calls on Labour MPs and MSPs to support the legitimate demands of the FBU for a decent wage for the highly skilled and dangerous work that fire-fighters are called on to do. The FBU has bent over backwards to try to negotiate an acceptable settlement, but the government's influence is clearly visible in the employers' unreasonable position. All the evidence points to an act of provocation by the Government, as part of its campaign on the public sector pay round. Firstly, the report was publicly leaked before it was officially presented to the FBU. Secondly, the offer of 4% this year with strings attached is even less acceptable to fire-fighters than the Employers' original offer of 4% back in July, which was itself woefully inadequate. Thirdly, the additional 7% for the second year is not even guaranteed.
" New Labour seems hell bent on having a head on confrontation with
the fire-fighters. Instead they should be encouraging the employers to
come to a reasonable settlement that rewards these highly valued public
service workers. They need a professional rate of pay for a professional
and highly dangerous job. No-one can seriously expect the FBU to consider
such an insulting proposal. Certainly not when MPs voted themselves a
40% pay rise and MSPs a 13% pay rise. There can be only one reason that
an offer of this sort has been put: to provoke a strike." |
|