General Secretary Fire Brigades Union. “Self-described Socialist" (according to The S*n.). Troublemaker. Opponent of the status quo. The main enemy is at home.
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FBU members.
You will have received your ballot paper on PAY - or will do shortly.
The Executive Council recommends members should vote to Accept.
Whatever your views please ensure you vote
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Over next two days please remember:
Firefighters did not put flammable cladding on Grenfell Tower.
Firefighters risked their own lives time and again during the fire.
Government has done nothing substantive in 28 months.
#Grenfell
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The fire service employers have just offered our members a 2% pay increase - i.e. another pay cut
It’s an insult to all FBU members & I’m sure will be treated as such.
We will now discuss with our members and plan our response.
#CostOfLivingCrisis
#WorkersNeedAPayRise
A victory for the
@RMTunion
will be a victory for all workers. Support the rail strikes. Support the picket lines.
Solidarity with the RMT; Support the rail strikes
#KayBurley
: "You've been offered 5%. Why is that not enough?"
@MattWrack
: "Because inflation is 11%. So thats a 6% pay cut. Why should workers anywhere be told to take a pay cut?"
Well said Matt & solidarity with all
@fbunational
members currently voting on strike action.
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#Pensions
victory
I am very pleased to announce that we have WON our legal case against the government over pension protection.
V v happy.
Well done FBU - well done for determination and for sticking together.
Will assess and report further.
Overwhelming!
FBU members vote by 79% to REJECT employers’ pay offer (pay cut).
We will now write to employers and government/s.
Our Executive Council will now plan for a strike ballot.
#FairPayOrFireStrike
We’ve done it!
I’m honoured to be re-elected as the General Secretary of the FBU.
67% of the vote: a higher share of the vote than I won when first elected in 2005.
And the highest share of the vote in any FBU General Secretary election ever.
Thanks so much.
#WeStandTogether
I am proud of the work I have done serving West Derby in Parliament, but there is more to be done. I ask all West Derby Labour Party members to give me that chance.
#KeepIanByrneMP
It will be deeply upsetting to bereaved and survivors of
#Grenfell
fire that the report has been leaked.
As a core participant we have signed non disclosure agreement.
Press is utterly failing to address issue of CLADDING or scrutinise the decisions of government ministers.
Whatever your own politics this is a really big moment - Labour could now be an opposition that gets things done + carries out effective scrutiny - irrespective of anyone's ideas, Labour under Corbyn struggled ever to do that
We robbed you of your pensions....
We froze your pay....
We slashed your jobs....
We ignored your concerns....
But.
Happy Christmas anyway.
Lots of love, the Home Office team.
We would like to thank our emergency services for the incredible work they do – not just at Christmas, but on every day and night of the year.
#CelebratingOurServices
Let’s be clear: Boris Johnson presided over worst ever cuts in as mayor of London.
His government has inflicted worst cuts in modern history on fire service funding.
And he leads a government which since
#Grenfell
completely fails to address fire policy failures.
#boltonfire
Fire crews at the scene of
#BoltonFire
have been visited by Prime Minister
@BorisJohnson
who has seen for himself the devastation caused by the blaze and the hard work and dedication of our firefighters. 🔥👩🏻🚒💪
Listening to Boris Johnson as PM responding to the
#Grenfell
report will anger many firefighters. He forced through the worst cuts in fire service history.
As mayor and as member of government he has done absolutely nothing to address the warnings given before
#Grenfell
Firefighters across the UK have spoken. This is a decisive mandate for action.
I would like to thank all FBU members who voted and campaigned in this ballot. After more than a decade of attacks on our pay, our message is clear: we will fight for fair pay.
#FairPayOrFireStrike
The details revealed in this report are deeply, deeply alarming. We cannot and will not let it be buried.
‘Hostility to Corbyn' curbed Labour efforts to tackle antisemitism, says leaked report
Fire safety in Britain is an utter disgrace.
Government fire policy in Britain is an utter disgrace.
#Bolton
#Fire
BBC News - Bolton fire: Huge blaze breaks out at student flats
Jonathan: Why has it taken you so long to realise - and why do you need the cover of a Sunday Times article?
It’s been blatantly obvious from the start that pre-planning was somewhere between an appalling failure and non-existent.
Serious questions raised in this over whether UK response to
#COVID
too slow.
- Emergency stockpiles of PPE had dwindled & some out of date.
- Pandemic planning a ‘casualty of austerity.’
- PM missed cobra meetings early on.
The Times tells a lie about
@AndyMcDonaldMP
and has to apologise.
Our union policy is to support a two state solution.
There is nothing in Andy’s comment which contradicts such an approach.
Labour leadership is entirely wrong and should lift suspension immediately.
Government
#Covid
policy:
Blame young people
Blame teachers
Blame the public
Blame firefighters
Excuse Cummings
Excuse unsafe workplaces
Excuse lack of planning
Accept no responsibility. Ever.
Ends.
Thatcher did it to the miners - calling them “The Enemy Within.”
Now the second rate, pound-shop Thatchers try it on again; blame workers for wanting to be able to pay the household bills.
Striking UK workers playing into Putin’s hands, says Zahawi
Firefighters and their union, the Fire Brigades Union, will face another stitch up tomorrow: 22 January.
The powers-that-be do not like us:
Because we stand up for ourselves;
Because we fight for safety in the workplace.
Hirelings do their bidding.
Watch this space.
After long discussions yesterday, fire service employers have confirmed a revised pay offer. 7% backdated to 1 July 2022 and 5% from 1 July 2023.
We will consult members on this and will not call strikes during consultation.
Further information to follow after Executive Council.
The government said all Grenfell-style cladding would be removed by this month. Figures show 300 buildings are yet to have the flammable material remediated
Another attack on firefighters begins.
Inspectors appointed by Tory ministers start their misleading and union bashing attack on us on
@BBCr4today
They manage to make 3 false assertions in a matter of 2 minutes. Good going.
#InspectorStitchUp
It’s a honour personally & for our union, to be elected as President of the TUC for the coming year. The strikes of the past 18 months are just a first sign of the power workers have when we organise together.
Matt Wrack becomes new TUC President | TUC
This is a cowardly, undemocratic and politically inept decision by
@PeoplesMomentum
If you run away at the first sign of trouble you will never achieve change.
What we heard was an angry rant. Nothing anti-Semitic.
Disgraceful decision.
The elected officers of our National Coordinating Group have decided to withdraw Momentum's support for Pete Willsman in Labour's ongoing NEC election.
Please vote Dar, Elmi, Garnham, Henderson, Lansman, Mishra, Webbe & Williams: 👍
#LabourNEC
#JC9
It does not help for Chief Fire Officers to claim that
#Grenfell
could not have been predicted.
The FBU warned about cladding fires as long ago as 1999. To the House of Commons!
Yes - 20 years ago.
#Dispatches
This is such an obvious and logical move. Well said
@GMB_union
I've signed
@GMB_Union
petition to call on the Prime Minister to requisition private hospital beds to help the NHS tackle coronavirus.
Stand with us? ↓
#COVID_19UK
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#Pensions
Happy Christmas - Glad Tidings on pensions.
Just out of the ET remedy hearing. Everything has gone to plan. Press release and circular to follow.
And look at the name of the venue: Victory House,
Well known that Diane faces more racist abuse than any other MP. The Labour Party has still not addressed the racism & islamaphobia exposed in the Forde Report. They need to address this accordingly.
Resolve the investigation. Restore the whip. No stitch up.
Solidarity Diane.
As a Black woman, and someone on the left of the Labour Party, I have unfortunately been forced to reach the conclusion that I will not get a fair hearing from this Labour leadership.
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Please share
Today is Firefighters Memorial Day - marked across the world.
At noon firefighters will hold a minute’s silence at fire stations.
Please share this video.
#FMD2020
#WeRemember
Dany Cotton is being scapegoated for
#Grenfell
. See my earlier warning.
Those responsible for turning a building into a death trap; for de-regulating and scrapping safety standards get away yet again.
The Establishment knows how to protect the guilty.
Labour stopped this practice under Corbyn/McDonnell but it’s back. Outrageous that banks & big business get such direct input on policy - it’s about protecting their private interests/profits.
Labour criticised for giving global banks access to parliament
When he goes - which looks imminent - Johnson will be replaced by a another right-wing, anti-worker, anti-public service, pro-privatisation, agent of the billionaire class.
🚨Downing Street staff drank alcohol into the early hours at two leaving events the night before Prince Philip’s socially-distanced funeral, The Telegraph can reveal.
Read more:
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Please share
It’s our centenary - today!
The Fire Brigades Union (then FTU) was registered as an independent trade union ON THIS DAY - 1 October 1918.
We pay tribute to all who went before us.
#Firefighters100
Firemen’s Trade Union (FTU) founded
Sick numbskulls who made a video of them burning an effigy of
#Grenfell
Tower are beneath contempt.
Such cowards will never understand the remarkable solidarity of N. Kensington community or why decent people across the country- indeed the world - support them.
#Justice4Grenfell
The Fire Service - nationally - did not plan or train for mass evacuation.
So the firefighters - all of them - on the night of
#Grenfell
were placed in an impossible position
#Dispatches
What a terrible decision.
Climate crisis is …..a crisis. It needs a broad policy response.
This decision also undermines CLPs and their role in labour conference.
🚨 BREAKING: Labour staff & the Conference Arrangements Committee have ruled our Conference motion out of order. 🚨
It’s an anti-democratic move to silence members, making a mockery any commitment to bold climate action.
We’ll be opposing the decision by all means necessary. ✊
People become firefighters because they want to serve their community. Our aim is to resolve this dispute without a strike.
We've given the employers & government 10 days to come up with a decent offer. If they don't, we will cal the first Uk-wide fire strike on pay since 2003
It’s a shame the
@houseofcommons
deleted this tweet. We think it’s an accurate reflection of how little this government cares about the threat of flooding, or the hardworking firefighters and other emergency service workers who respond bravely to it.
North Kensington residents stood outside the North Kensington
#fire
station - the first firefighters on the scene at Grenfell Tower are based here - as they wanted “to show solidarity” with fire crews as
@C4Dispatches
about
#Grenfell
was broadcast
What an utterly cowardly response from Labour.
It’s an undemocratic piece of legislation - just agree to repeal it.
Labour urged to say whether it would scrap new anti-protest laws
The so called ‘report’ on fire service response to Covid is a politically motivated attack on firefighters & our union.
It is packed with inaccuracies and falsehoods.
Primary aim is to undermine the Fire Brigades Union & the collective rights of firefighters.
#InspectorStitchUp
#Grenfell
inquiry report out this week.
One obvious point is that central government has done nothing serious to address concerns in the 28 months since the fire. Or in the years BEFORE the fire.
Don’t let them scapegoat firefighters.
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The Fire Brigades Union is the ONLY fire service organisation to challenge this attack through the courts in this way.
The FBU is the ONLY union at all to follow this challenge and see it through.
Determination and Attention To Detail.
#PensionJustice
Today is Firefighters Memorial Day
#WeRemember
the sacrifice of all those of our sisters and brothers who lost their lives protecting their communities.
Fire stations sound sirens for Firefighters Memorial Day 2019
1. Statistical nonsense (&dishonest) to use London salary of a firefighter for comparator with national average earnings (not salary) in wider economy.
2. Inflation has not been caused by wages in public or private sector. Wages generally have stagnated for over a decade.
Matt Wrack(Fire Brigades Union) - "You need to compare apples with apples... get your facts right if you're going to ask questions... " 🔥
#KayBurley
#BBCBreakfast
"Mike Dowden did not apply flammable cladding to Grenfell Tower. Nor did he make the other alterations which destroyed the fire safety within the building.
"He was simply on duty when the worst fire since World War Two broke out.”
BBC News
What a shocking interview. Is the plan just to sit back and see what the Tories come up with?
Some corporations and individuals have done very well from the past 4 months.
Start by taxing them.
#Marr
: Is Labour against tax rises on those earning over £80,000?
Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Rachel Reeves: "We would look at any proposals the government have put forward"
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Please share
Please support us in standing up for safety.
Firefighters have taken on numerous additional roles to support the fight against Covid.
We want to do that safely - for all of us.
#PutSafetyFirst
Greg Hands, Tory chair, has no role in deciding Labour policy; mind your own business.
Your party defended South African apartheid for decades.
You are systematically undermining our democratic rights in the Uk,
Solidarity
@ApsanaBegumMP
Solidarity Apsana .
Please spare a thought for those at work tomorrow.
Thanks to all firefighters, emergency fire control staff, NHS staff and all those workers who will be away from families & working on Christmas Day and through the holidays.
#HappyChristmas
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We stand together with teachers, school staff and for the safety of parents, students and the community.
Please share and support.
#MakeSchoolsSafe
Unions call on Labour to back NEU over schools closures via
@Union_NewsUK
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#Pensions
Another step forward
Government applied to court of appeal for permission to appeal recent judgement in our favour.
This has been rejected.
They can still make further application to Supreme Court for permission.
Presumably they will since the tax payer pays.
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This was the warning I made about the
#Grenfell
Tower Inquiry more than 2 years ago.
Don’t let them stitch up firefighters.
Fire chief criticises terms of inquiry into Grenfell Tower blaze
An utterly heartbreaking family story from Grenfell.
However, any suggestion that firefighters were motivated by racism is untrue and unjust. Firefighters put their own lives at risk throughout the fire - to save the lives of others.
We will seek to meet Doreen Lawrence ASAP.
@ApsanaBegumMP
has been a staunch ally of
@fbunational
during her time in Parliament. Appalled to hear that she has faced a misogynistic campaign in her trigger ballot process. We call on
@Keir_Starmer
and
@UKLabour
to intervene & put an end to this abuse. Solidarity Apsana.
Disgraceful.
Solidarity with
@NadiaWhittomeMP
and well done for speaking out.
#PPE
Labour MP Nadia Whittome sacked as carer for speaking out about PPE shortages
Hey
@Keir_Starmer
Your pledges on workers rights are a step BACK from current Labour Party conference policy and a step BACK from TUC policy.
We want our trade union rights back.
#NoRetreat
on trade union rights
Agency rail workers will be stopped at picket lines and asked not to cross.
RMT union's General Secretary Mick Lynch got a little flustered explaining why...
#KayBurley
FC
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The government talks of medals for key workers.
Then discusses a pay freeze - after 10 years of attacks on public sector pay.
Utter disgrace.
We will all need to resist these further attacks.
#JoinAUnion
FBU officials have been with Mike Dowden for each day of his evidence as we will for all FBU members who give evidence.
#GrenfellInquiry
#IAmMichaelDowden