An Assistant Chief Officer called Steve,

An Assistant Chief Officer called Steve*

Has (you'll  find it hard to believe)#

Stopped West Yorks FBU, from emailing you

So we're cross and we need to concede...........  

*Rhodes  
# Ok we are being sarcastic it's been a long day!

 Concede to what you may ask ?

We here at FCCL have a very soft spot for David Williams of West Yorkshire FBU. He has over the past two and a half years risen  from associate, comrade, to  friend and now (poor sod) has achieved the heady heights of being a trusted pal. 

So when FCCL  read the West Yorks FBU facebook page on the 23rd April 2014  FCCL  went from serene to niffed quicker than a CFO discovering a camera might have been left running on a pump during a strike! 

So we are conceding  to our emotions (its a girl thing)  and wish to name and shame ACO Steve Rhodes as FCCL  consider him to be a BULLY  and worse is  guilty of victimisation and harassment of a union official, which is not only inappropriate behaviour for a Director of a Public Authority but in direct contravention of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ! 

ACO Rhodes actions are also of course in direct contravention of WYFRS  Employment Services Trade Union Facilities Agreement Policy (Grey). A copy of which you can find here  

Dave's alleged crime.............to try an email some of his members via his WYFRS email account! 

Now Dave (we happen to know because FCCL were also there) recently attended a TUC briefing on Facility and Recognition agreements,  so he  is fully aware of what he can and cannot do; and what the FBU as a recognised Trades Union is entitled to use as part of their facility / recognition agreement  with WYFRA .

Strangely enough the Chief Fire Officers Association don't seem to be allowed access 

to the above facilities - it would be interesting to  see if they did communicate

 with their members via their  WYFRS email accounts!  

So in closing  we have to award both David Williams and Steve Rhodes 10 /10. 

Dave for showing great courage in outing what ACO Rhodes has done - standing up to bullying such as this takes guts. 

And to 

ACO Rhodes for being our little blogs 

favourite person! 

To date FCCL has had 150,000 hits and 27% of all our traffic has viewed Handbag Gate - so we have a lot to thank him for really ! 

Who is Burning Your Money ?

I would be the first to admit i can leave substantially more of the Taxpayers Alliance   than I can take.

But we have on couple of occasions been rather taken with what they have posted on their website. FCCL was dropped a hint to look at their articles on the Chief Fire Officers Association, and what an interesting read it is! The full article is available here 

FCCL strongly  advises everybody regardless of the work they do to join (and indeed become involved and active in ) A TRADE UNION. Unions can provide you with many benefits, from cheaper insurance to legal cover for employment issues should  you ever need it. However being in a union is not free, you pay a subscription, usually monthly to give you the cover you need. Most unions subs are on a sliding scale depending on how much you earn.  Below are the 2013 rates for the Fire Brigades Union (should you need more information it's here 

	WHOLETIME		JOB SHARE		RETAINED		VOLUNTEER		JUNIOR FIREFIGHTER
	WEEKLY	MONTHLY	WEEKLY	MONTHLY	WEEKLY	MONTHLY	WEEKLY	MONTHLY	WEEKLY	MONTHLY
TRADE	£5.30	£22.97	£2.65	£11.49	£1.75	£7.58	£0.35	£1.53	£1.75	£7.58
POLITICAL	£0.16	£0.69	£0.16	£0.69	£0.16	£0.69	£0.16	£0.69	-	-
AIF	£0.76	£3.29	£0.76	£3.29	£0.76	£3.29	£0.76	£3.29	£0.76	£3.29
TOTAL	£6.22	£26.95	£3.57	£15.47	£2.67	£11.56	£1.27	£5.51	£2.51	£10.87

So a "bog standard " fire fighters pays approx £323 a year  from their wages to enjoy the many benefits of being a member of the FBU.

So  if a firefighter on an average salary of £28,500 a year pays £323  (doing some big sums ) 

this means a Chief Fire Officer should pay in the region of  £1,800  per year fees to the CFOA

BUT 

GUESS 

                      WHAT ???

                         

    THEY PAY NOTHING AT ALL 

Because WE THE TAX PAYER PAY THEM 

Brigade	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	Total
West Yorkshire	£4,698.75	£13,638.63	£14,652.00	£32,989.38
South Yorkshire	£17,909.74	£22,907.00	£16,610.15	£57,426.89

And to quote the taxpayers alliance 

The name suggests this is an organisation paid for by those at the top of the fire service. As I pointed out, this is far from the truth. It is taxpayers that prop-up the CFOA as it gets subscriptions from fire authorities across the country. Those same fire authorities even pay for the individual subscriptions of well paid senior fire officers.

We think that WYFRS and SYFRS  should take a stand and refuse to pay the subscriptions of the Chief Officer.  The London Fire Brigade agree with us.Last year Ron Dobson the London Fire Commissioner said this

At a time when public sector organisations are being challenged to make huge savings across the board, we believe this increase shows a lack of empathy with the financial situation facing all the fire and rescue services that CFOA is there to support.

“In the current economic climate we believe they should be leading the way, rather than simply passing on the cost of savings that we are all being asked to make.

We think that we the tax payers of Yorkshire should start to lobby to stop these payments to people who  already get very high salaries  BUT  it is much worse, here on the front page of the CFOA is the launch of Bluewatch !

The CFOA  are actually in partnership  with a private company  CAPITA

 Capita plc has today announced the launch of Blue Watch, a new fire and home safety scheme, supported by the UK’s fire and rescue services (FRS). Capita has signed a seven year contract, with an option to extend for a further three years, with CFOA Services Ltd (CSL) - a trading company of the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) - to deliver the scheme.

The full press release is available here  (but you might have to login as a guest on the CFOA site) 


Now call me thick  but aren't we being constantly told that firefighters workload is reducing?  

That we don't need as many of them ?  

Yet our very own Fire Chiefs are using OUR MONEY  to promote a private venture and reading Paul Fullers  (CFOA Services Ltd (CSL) chair) which is a trading company of the Chief Fire Officers Association)  validation of the programme makes me  feel extremely sick !

Paul Fuller, CSL chair, said: “As a serving fire chief, I am proud of the work fire and rescue services across the UK have done to drive down death and injury, but more can always be done. Too many lives are still lost and injuries caused, which is why we have set up Blue Watch. Using our experience, knowledge and professionalism we will help landlords make their properties safer from the risks of fire and carbon monoxide. It’s all about providing the best possible advice and support, as well as top quality safety products. We are looking forward to working with Capita in bringing a fresh approach to fire and CO safety, which we hope will reduce the number of people affected by fire and CO.”

I THINK IT IS TIME TO CALL OUR FIRE CHIEFS TO ACCOUNT !

A FRESH APPROACH TO FIRE SAFETY  - ----It is

P R I V A T I S A T I O N 

(and not even by the back door)