Dear Brother/Sister
You will be aware of the ongoing discussions between the government, employers and unions in relation to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) for England and Wales which affects fire control members.
The discussions have taken the form of a series of high level meetings with the trade union side Joint Secretaries, which in this case are officials from UNISON, UNITE and GMB. The outcomes of these meetings are then discussed in a meeting of all eleven trade unions who have members in the LGPS. The Joint Secretary talks culminated in the production of a 'Heads of Agreement' document. (A joint union bulletin outlining this in detail is attached to this circular and is also available on the FBU website www.fbu.org.uk )
Following the production of the 'Heads of Agreement' government have suspended their consultation around the increase in employee contributions and worsening of accrual rates to allow the negotiations on this document to continue. However government have also confirmed that should the Heads of Agreement process fail the consultation process will recommence and as such have established that stakeholder responses are still required by the original closing date. In accordance with this the union response was submitted on 6 January 2012 and is also available on the FBU website.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The situation is different in Scotland as there are currently no proposals to amend the LGPS or increase employee contribution rates. In Northern Ireland no decision has been made but it is expected that they will follow the position adopted in England and Wales.
Heads Of Agreement: England And Wales
On 9 January 2012 the LGPS trade unions met to discuss the 'Heads of Agreement' and to gauge the response of individual unions to the proposals contained within it. UNITE were not in attendance since they were discussing the document internally with their Executive.
Although the majority of other unions were supportive of the Heads of Agreement the FBU took a different view for the following reasons.
The FBU believe that;
- Any proposal to introduce an increased normal pension age in 2014 does not take account of the operational elements of the role of a fire control operator;
- Entering further negotiations on the basis of the Heads of Agreement clearly means accepting an increased normal pension age.
- The protection for low paid workers proposed in the 'Heads of Agreement' does not apply to any fire control member.
In essence the union felt that supporting this Heads of Agreement was;
- Not in the best interests of fire control operators;
- Did not take account of the specific nature of their role.
Since this meeting it has been widely publicised that UNISON and GMB are fully supportive of this 'Heads of Agreement' as a basis for further negotiation on the proposals for the LGPS in England and Wales. It was later reported that UNITE, following their internal discussion, had also taken a decision to reject the 'Heads of Agreement'.
Control Members: Access To Fire Service Pension Scheme
The FBU is still pursuing a position whereby fire control operators could have the option of joining a fire service pension scheme which recognises the specific factors associated with their role.
This is an important issue as the FBU maintain that;
An occupational pension scheme must reflect the occupation it relates to in all aspects including the normal pensionable age.
The FBU has been discussing this option with Department for Communities and Local Government officials and the Fire Minister and has been examining the financial implications with actuaries. These discussions will continue and further information will be made available as they progress but there are obvious hurdles to overcome if this is to be achieved.
The Executive Council are scheduled to meet on or around the 23 January to receive a full briefing on the ongoing pension issues for all fire service pension schemes, including the LGPS. Fire control members will be updated on the discussions around the LGPS following this meeting.
Yours fraternally,
Sean Starbuck
National Officer
2012HOC0030SS
