Report - Fire Brigades Union

SECTION G — INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION
B&EMM – disciplinary monitoring
At the last national committee meeting it was discussed that
B&EMM members may be disproportionately disciplined and
this is of concern to B&EMM. In order to have appropriate
statistics to evidence this, we will need the following
information:
Request information from brigades on ethnic monitoring of
discipline and grievances.
This information should be readily available as it is information
your brigade is required to monitor and record, and make
publicly available, under their employment monitoring. If you
have difficulties getting this information you should inform your
brigade officials, B&EMM regional representative or B&EMM
officials.
June 2010
On Friday 4 June 2010 B&EMM attended the 13th equality
and diversity strategy group meeting in Tamworth. This turned
out to be the final meeting of this group.
The report to the national committee meeting from this
meeting included:
1. The former fire minister’s speech to the AFSA conference
has still not been forwarded.
2. The terms of reference of this group have recently been
reviewed. Sis Vicky Knight was elected as the vice chair of
this committee.
3. Chair for this meeting was M Hagan (Merseyside DCFO).
4. Transgender and EIA guidance documents are done and
these are to be circulated.
5. Workplace facilities (status to be clarified) and exit
interviews guidance (clarify origins).
6. The dyslexia policy was discussed as a good document but
one that needed a summary attached to it for easy reading
and reference.
7. Fire Fit standards questioned and how this is being applied
across brigades.
8. We were informed that the second tranche of the stretch
target funding had now been allocated to all 32 FRSs –
they received £34k each. There was no evidence or criteria
requested in order to receive this additional funding.
9. The next meeting of the EDSG scheduled for 24
September 2010 did not take place.
October 2010
14th annual Scottish TUC black workers' conference,
Menzies Hotel, Glasgow
Delegates: Bros Lud Ramsey and Hakim Beaouji.
The STUC black workers’ conference took place on 2-3
October 2010 in Glasgow at the Menzies Hotel.
The conference had 18 motions, five of which were about cuts
and the impact they will have on the BME population. As most
of the Scottish BME workforce is in the public sector, the cuts
will impact negatively and disproportionately on BME workers.
The conference will try to counter this by organising the Better
Way campaign and preparing to fight the possible redundancies.
There were four motions about opposing the far right. With the
increasing rise of the English Defence League (EDL), Scottish
Defence League, BNP and the Welsh Defence League, the
motions called upon the STUC to step up its campaign against
the far right groups. This would be done by working with
community groups and anti-fascist organisations to ensure that
Scotland keeps the far right “right out”. The Scottish police in
Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders were praised for being
very instrumental in denying the EDL and SDL the right to
march in the two largest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh. This
was achieved by not letting them pass any places of worship
and then containing them in one pub in each city. Therefore,
trouble was kept to a minimum.
The FBU had two motions – Hakim moved our motion on Haiti
as a first-time speaker and Lud moved the second motion on
the Single Equalities Act. Both motions were passed by the
conference.
Lud Ramsey was voted on to the STUC black workers’
committee to serve for 2010-2011. He was also asked to
speak at the STUC disabled workers’ conference in November
2010.
November 2010
Asian Fire Service Association (AFSA) national conference
3-4 November 2010 in Lancashire
A two-day conference was hosted by the Lancashire FRS,
whose CFO, Peter Holland, is the CFOA president. The main
speaker was the fire minister Robert Neill MP and the main
topic of discussion was equality and diversity in the UK FRS.
Sis Samantha Samuels took part in a panel discussion on
behalf of the FBU.
FBU Lobby – 17 November 2010
The FBU lobby took place at the Methodist Central Hall,
Westminster. This lobby was attended by over 2,000 FBU
members and their families who came to support the unity of
their union against the government’s cuts to public services
and particularly the FRS. All B&EMM officials attended this rally
and there was a wide attendance of B&EMM.
We were addressed by the following speakers; PCS general
secretary Mark Serwotka, MPs Katy Clark and John Cryer, TUC
deputy general secretary Frances O’Grady, and FBU general
secretary Matt Wrack.
Meetings attended:
2010
14 January Ordinary People Extra Ordinary Careers
launch – London
20 January B&EMM executive – London
21 January Al Sharpton visit – London
22 January Meeting Region 7 EC – Birmingham
2 February Sectional executive – London
3 February National education meeting – head office
FBU Annual Report 2011 109