Stop the mutualisation of the fire service

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Conference
2015 Local Government Service Group Conference
Date
10 February 2015
Decision
Carried

Service Group Conference notes with deep concern the former government’s announcement of plans to turn fire authorities into mutuals.

Under the plans, the government would change the law to allow fire authorities to set themselves up as independent social enterprise companies outside the public sector. They would then be contracted to provide geographical fire cover while also being free to offer their services to the private sector.

Conference notes with concern that mutualisation has also been put forward in other areas of local government and the NHS. We believe that this is a further means of delivering massive cuts. While public funding is guaranteed for the first three years of the existence of a mutual, after that it has to raise its own funding. It would then have to compete with private providers leading to inevitable pressure to make cuts in service levels, jobs and pay.

Conference notes that there have already been fire station closures, cuts and significant jobs losses amongst both operational and non-operational fire service staff under the last government. Support services such as fire fighter training have been privatised. Cleveland Fire and Rescue is already planning to become a mutual.

Conference believes that there is no support for privatisation amongst the public and that mutualisation is a means of doing this by stealth. Claims that mutualisation gives workers more control over the service are myths designed to undermine resistance by the trade unions.

Conference notes with concern that some Labour-led local councils are pushing for mutualisation of local services.

Conference reaffirms its call made at the 2014 Local Government Service Group Conference on the Service Group Executive to:-

a)Continue to support branches, including those with members in the fire service to campaign for the retention of services to be delivered in-house;

b)Continue to publicise the impact of mutualisation on members’ terms and conditions and the services they deliver, across all local government branches, and;

c)Continue to publish guidance, and to offer support to branches facing the imposition of mutualisation by their employers.

Conference resolves to campaign against the mutualisation of the fire service at both national and local levels and to work closely with other trade unions in particular the Fire Brigades Union.