Report - Fire Brigades Union

More documents

Recommendations

Info

SECTION G — INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION play for our members across the UK. The findings of this survey will be written up in 2011 and shared with the health and safety committee. Negotiating maternity, paternity and adoption rights document This year saw the negotiation of the maternity section in the Grey Book, with some improvements being made. However, the FBU policy remains our vision and as such we should continue to strive to achieve this. Firefit The NWC has actively pursued the problems regarding the VO2 max and is looking forward to forming part of the subcommittee that is looking into this. G24 National women’s committee AGM report 2010 Record of decisions for NWC AGM 27 January 2011 1. SHIFT CHANGES This Women’s AGM is disgusted at the aggressive agenda of shift changes being seen across the country. Women are often used as part of the excuse to change the shift pattern with little or no discussion with them from their respective Fire and Rescue Service. Women members are adamant that the shifts should remain 2, 2, 3 but with flexibility built in. The start and finish times should be negotiated and not imposed. Day shifts should not be so long that members would not see their children or carry out their caring responsibilities at either end of the shift. Women members are well aware that many male members take on the responsibility of childcare but it is statistically proven that women tend to bare the brunt of this responsibility. This Women’s AGM instructs the EC to act now to protect our 2, 2, 3 shift system and stop the disproportionate discrimination of women members. REGION 3 – CARRIED 2. NVQ AND PREGNANCY This National Women’s Committee AGM is concerned at the potential number of women who may be financially disadvantaged due to becoming pregnant before completion of their NVQ. This AGM requests the Executive Council, in conjunction with the NWC, to conduct a national survey of FRS into the number of wholetime and RDS firefighters who become pregnant prior to completion of the NVQ process. This AGM also requires information regarding the measures, if any, which are in place to assist pregnant firefighters who find themselves in this situation. This information should be available by the NWC AGM 2011. Region 8 – CARRIED Amendment 1: Amend para 2 to read: Para 2, line 2, after “of” delete up until “who” and insert “Firefighters – Wholetime, RDS and Control” REGION 2 – CARRIED Amendment 2: Para 1, line 3 – after “NVQ” insert “and / or their brigades alternative system” Para 2, line 3 – after “process” insert “and / or their brigades alternative system” REGION 6 – CARRIED 3. TRAINING FOR ADVOCATES This Women’s AGM believes that in the interests of achieving the best for its women members training is needed to become advocates. This training is about complementing the role that the FBU solicitors currently take and assisting them with their workload. The FBU solicitors are not always freely available to members that need to discuss their case; the advocates can provide this service as a go between. This Women’s AGM calls upon the Executive Council to immediately develop and implement appropriate training for FBU women members to become Employment Tribunal advocates. This will provide a pool of FBU advocates that can assist and advise members at ET cases or before the decision is taken to pursue an ET. This training should be made available within the next education schedule for 2012. REGION 10 – CARRIED 4. UNISEX FIREKIT This Women’s AGM is appalled that the Fire and Rescue Services within the North West Region have purchased unisex fire kit as part of a regional procurement. This AGM is further concerned to learn that there are moves for procuring unisex fire kit within other regions within the UK. Considering women have been firefighters for over 30 years, this AGM is concerned about this huge backward step which makes women firefighters feel undervalued and not protected to the same standards as their male colleagues. We call upon the Executive Council to challenge this decision and prevent further Fire and Rescue Services putting their women firefighters at unnecessary and unfair risk. REGION 5 – CARRIED 5. MATERNITY PAY This Women’s AGM appreciates the difficult times Fire and Rescue Services are facing at present, however, feel it is wholly unacceptable that women firefighters are singled out at any point during this. A firefighter’s pay isn’t negotiated at local level. A Firefighter’s sick pay isn’t 136 FBU Annual Report 2011
SECTION G — INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION negotiated at local level so why is it acceptable for a firefighter’s maternity pay to be? This Women’s AGM calls upon the Executive Council to place maternity pay and conditions firmly back on their agenda, re-raise at the NJC the issue of an enhanced national maternity package, and report quarterly to the National Women’s Committee on their progress. REGION 3 – CARRIED 6. WALES TUC EQUALITY COMMITTEES This National Women’s Committee AGM, is extremely disappointed that the Wales TUC general council has followed the coalition government’s trend of totally disregarding the equality agenda by suspending its equality committees in an attempt to save money. This Women’s AGM, requests that the Executive Council contacts the Wales TUC general secretary for a report on these suspensions, and demands his assurance that equality issues are still a priority for the Wales TUC in line with National TUC policy. This report should be available within 3 months of this AGM. REGION 8 – CARRIED 7. BEST PRACTICE This Women’s AGM believes that in the interests of achieving the best for all FBU women members, the Grey Book Fairness at Work section should include a ‘best practice’ clause for Maternity and Breast feeding policies. This AGM notes that due to the Grey Book providing a set of minimum standards, women FBU members in different Fire and Rescue Services are being subjected to different arrangements. This AGM calls upon the Executive Council to negotiate, at the NJC, the provision of a ‘best practice’ clause within the Grey Book. This would encourage all Brigades to adopt the best negotiated policies, with a view to continual improvements for our members. REGION 10 – CARRIED 8. EQUALITY TARGETS This Women’s AGM is appalled at the Coalition Government’s scrapping of centrally driven “equality targets” for under-represented groups in the Fire and Rescue Service. Instead, this responsibility has been handed over to the control of local Fire and Rescue Authorities, sending out a clear message that a centralised equality strategy for the UK Fire and Rescue Service is unimportant to this Government. Fire and Rescue Services have been historically reluctant to actively recruit women firefighters and are renowned for using positive action solely as a tick box exercise to achieve a “gold standard” in auditing processes. The removal of centrally driven targets has not been equality impact assessed and will undoubtedly have a detrimental effect on women. This Women’s AGM calls upon the Executive Council to actively lobby Government to reinstate reflective targets and closely monitor the recruitment and retention of women firefighters within the UK Fire and Rescue Service. REGION 3 – CARRIED 9. IRAN This National Women’s Committee AGM is appalled and outraged at the continued abhorrent treatment of women in Iran, in particular those who have been ‘convicted’ of adultery, a so called criminal offence that sentences women to death by stoning. This women’s AGM calls upon the Executive Council in conjunction with the TUC and Amnesty International to put pressure on the UK Government and its foreign office to urgently demand that the Iranian authorities immediately release Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtianti from death row, and her lawyer from custody. Furthermore, we urge the Executive Council to raise the profile of this woman’s plight and encourage our members to petition the Iranian Government on her behalf. REGION 8 – CARRIED Emergency resolutions 1. THE BBC This Women’s AGM is disgusted at yesterday’s announcement of cuts within the BBC’s world service broadcasting. Alongside the job losses, estimated at approximately 600 by the NUJ, services to Serbia, Albania, Macedonia, Portugese Africa, English Caribbean and Russia will be cut. This cuts agenda defies belief, as incidents necessitating an impartial vehicle for reporting facts, garnering international support and response will not be provided by the BBC. It is thought that Voice of America will be the service replacing the BBC in many areas; this is unacceptable following over 70 years of trusted broadcasting. We call upon the EC to show support to the NUJ in campaigning against job losses and make clear in all political arenas that a trusted BBC is a minimum requirement in times of political difficulty, fiscal challenges and civil unrest. REGION 7 – CARRIED Delegates Region 1 Vicky Stonebridge Ruth Winters Rebecca Smith FBU Annual Report 2011 137
Page 1:
The Fire Brigades Union Executive C
Page 4 and 5:
MICK SHAW President MATT WRACK Gene
Page 6 and 7:
Executive council members (continue
Page 8 and 9:
Section D Pensions 91 Section E AIF
Page 10 and 11:
8 FBU Annual Report 2011
Page 12 and 13:
10 FBU Annual Report 2011
Page 14 and 15:
SECTION A — NATIONAL JOINT COUNCI
Page 16 and 17:
Page 18 and 19:
Page 20 and 21:
Page 22 and 23:
Page 24 and 25:
Page 26 and 27:
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
SECTION B — FIRE AND RESCUE SERVI
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 46 and 47:
Page 48 and 49:
Page 50 and 51:
Page 52 and 53:
Page 54 and 55:
Page 56 and 57:
Page 58 and 59:
Page 60 and 61:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67:
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
Page 72 and 73:
Page 74 and 75:
Page 76 and 77:
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
SECTION C — TUC AND LABOUR MOVEME
Page 86 and 87:
SECTION C — TUC AND LABOUR MOVEME
Page 88 and 89: SECTION C — TUC AND LABOUR MOVEME
Page 94 and 95: SECTION D — PENSIONS On 8 Decembe
Page 96 and 97: SECTION D — PENSIONS included pap
Page 98 and 99: SECTION E — AIF 2010 Accident and
Page 100 and 101: SECTION F — LEGAL REPORT absence
Page 102 and 103: SECTION F — LEGAL REPORT brunt of
Page 104 and 105: SECTION G — INTERNAL ADMINISTRATI
Page 142 and 143: 140 FBU Annual Report 2011
Page 144 and 145: SECTION H — EDUCATION The review
Page 146 and 147: SECTION H — EDUCATION The final s
Page 148 and 149: SECTION H — EDUCATION two worksho
Page 150 and 151: SECTION H — EDUCATION The new FBU
Page 154 and 155: SECTION I — FAIRNESS AT WORK Ther
Page 158 and 159: SECTION J — HEALTH & SAFETY shown
Page 160 and 161: SECTION J — HEALTH & SAFETY WCPSs
Page 162 and 163: SECTION J — HEALTH & SAFETY a num
Page 164 and 165: SECTION J — HEALTH & SAFETY These
Page 166 and 167: SECTION J — HEALTH & SAFETY CFOA
Page 168 and 169: SECTION K — ACCOUNTS 2010 AND FIN
Page 186: 184 FBU Annual Report 2011
show all

Report - Fire Brigades Union

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?