FBU members hold Fight 52 banner outside fire authority building

‘We won’t stop’ FBU maternity pay campaigners warn authority

Firefighters called for better maternity pay at a rally outside a meeting of the South Yorkshire Fire Authority in September. The union’s Fight for 52 weeks campaign has resulted in several services increasing maternity provision to 12 months of full pay. However, South Yorkshire currently lags...
4% headline pay offer 2024

Firefighters win 4% pay offer and advances on maternity following talks

By Alice Dann
Firefighters and fire control staff have been offered a package of pay improvements, including an above-inflation pay rise, improvements to maternity pay, and a large increase to the retainer paid to on-call firefighters. Pay negotiations have been underway at the National Joint Council (NJC)...

An attack on the maternity rights of women FBU members

Document graphic
Circular ref
2024HOC0180MW
Dear Brother/Sister, An attack on the maternity rights of women FBU members On 5 April, a large number of FBU officials received a WhatsApp message with an attachment of a bulletin titled Trade union...
Womens school 2024 at Wortley Hall

25 years of the national women’s committee

Katie Holloway, chair of the FBU national women’s committee, looks back at a quarter of a century of work for women and forward to the future The National Women’s Committee (NWC) was inaugurated in 1999, at a one-off special meeting at Wortley Hall near Sheffield. The meeting gathered women...
BEMM section national chair Karen Bell

Karen Bell - black and ethnic minority members section national chair

1. What made you want to become a rep? Having had no interest in the trade union movement, on joining the fire service I quickly recognised the importance of a union to ensure democratic process, giving a voice to those marginalised and unfairly treated in the workplace and providing general...
Fight for 52 NWC Wortley Hall 2024

Make sure your ballot is in the post on time

POLITICAL BALLOT As this magazine lands on doorsteps across the UK, FBU members have just a few more days to vote in the 2024 political fund ballot. Everything that happens in the fire and rescue service – cuts, pay, pensions, health and safety – is political in one way or another. We need a...
fire-engine-leaving-station

Northamptonshire PFCC position "untenable" after sexist remarks, says union

By Ben Duncan-Duggal
Stephen Mold, the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Northamptonshire has been reported as using sexist language in a meeting with firefighters in relation to the county's new Chief Fire Officer, Nikki Watson. He has not denied that he used this language, and referred himself to the fire...
Equality matters Newcastle photo commission credit Mark Pinder

Equality Matters campaign rolls on

The next phase of the Equality Matters campaign was launched in February, with new materials and resources to equip members to stand against discrimination in the workplace Delegates at FBU conference 2023 voted for a UK-wide campaign to fight for equality in the fire and rescue service, after...

Firefighter magazine December 2023 January 2024

FF front cover Dec 2023 Jan2024
The last issue of 2023 covers amongst other news, updates on regional campaigns; the Minimum Service Levels Act; the Covid Inquiry; and forever chemicals in PPE. The features include the next steps in the Firefighters’ Manifesto campaign; the latest on BA policy; the union’s pushback against plans...

Firefighter magazine
Subscribe to Women