FIRE BRIGADES UNION (FBU) members are currently being balloted on a pay offer tabled by the national fire service employers. The offer – which can be read in full here – includes: The union’s executive council is recommending a ‘yes’ vote in the ballot. The offer, if accepted, will take effect from the annual pay… Continue reading Pay offer: debate stymied and annual conference sidelined (again)
Blog
Astonishing new twist in FBU ‘hush money’ scandal as general secretary refuses to answer MPs’ questions
IN AN EXTRAORDINARY move, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), Matt Wrack, has refused to provide information to a key committee of MPs who were seeking clarification over his claim, made to them in an oral evidence session, that he was not aware of any cases where the union had reached non-disclosure… Continue reading Astonishing new twist in FBU ‘hush money’ scandal as general secretary refuses to answer MPs’ questions
Trade union watchdog finds that FBU leadership breached union rules when blocking application for membership from firefighter who had made accusations against officials
THE FIRE BRIGADES UNION (FBU) leadership is facing fresh embarrassment after the official trade union regulator – known as the ‘certification officer’ – found that the union’s executive council breached internal rules when it blocked an application for membership from a firefighter who had made accusations against officials. The ruling – which levelled personal criticism… Continue reading Trade union watchdog finds that FBU leadership breached union rules when blocking application for membership from firefighter who had made accusations against officials
Pay: the silence is deafening
THE USUAL ANNUAL pay settlement date for the fire and rescue service – 1 July – is a little over three months away. That is the date on which firefighters and Control staff are entitled to receive any salary increase agreed between employers and the Fire Brigades Union through the National Joint Council (NJC). Yet,… Continue reading Pay: the silence is deafening
‘Setting the record straight’ – with a litany of half-truths and distortions! Our response to the FBU leadership’s scurrilous attack on us
FOR FOUR YEARS, this blog has been scrutinising the actions and decisions of senior officials of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in a way that those officials have rarely been used to. In that time, we have shed light on a wide range of issues – some of them highly controversial – which the leadership… Continue reading ‘Setting the record straight’ – with a litany of half-truths and distortions! Our response to the FBU leadership’s scurrilous attack on us
VIDEO: General secretary Matt Wrack in bad-tempered clash with MPs after being quizzed in parliament over use of non-disclosure agreements inside FBU
THE GENERAL SECRETARY of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), Matt Wrack, has been challenged in parliament over the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in the union – a scandal that was first exposed by this blog and has since been covered in the pages of Private Eye magazine. This blog revealed how, in recent years,… Continue reading VIDEO: General secretary Matt Wrack in bad-tempered clash with MPs after being quizzed in parliament over use of non-disclosure agreements inside FBU
EXPOSED: The cosy relationship between the FBU’s general secretary and two ‘impartial’ barristers who helped block a disciplinary case against him and a national officer colleague
THIS BLOG CAN today reveal that legal advice that persuaded members of the Fire Brigades Union’s (FBU) ruling executive council to terminate disciplinary proceedings against general secretary Matt Wrack and national officer Riccardo la Torre was written by two barristers who both knew Wrack personally and had undertaken political campaigning alongside him over many years.… Continue reading EXPOSED: The cosy relationship between the FBU’s general secretary and two ‘impartial’ barristers who helped block a disciplinary case against him and a national officer colleague
REVEALED: How the FBU’s general secretary and a national officer were facing serious disciplinary charges – until the executive council ripped up the rule book and collapsed the case
A MAJOR CONTROVERSY has broken out in the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) after disciplinary proceedings into allegations that the general secretary, Matt Wrack, and national officer Riccardo la Torre broke union rules were abruptly terminated just days before the pair were due to face a hearing. The full details, which can be disclosed for the… Continue reading REVEALED: How the FBU’s general secretary and a national officer were facing serious disciplinary charges – until the executive council ripped up the rule book and collapsed the case
The FBU’s ‘hush money’ scandal: all you need to know
REGULAR READERS OF this blog will know that there have recently been one or two significant developments in the ongoing ‘hush money’ scandal inside the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). So we thought we’d take this opportunity to explain once again what the scandal is all about, and to answer some of the questions that are… Continue reading The FBU’s ‘hush money’ scandal: all you need to know
Retiring FBU national officer secretly received an unexplained payment of over £60k from union funds
THIS BLOG CAN REVEAL today that a senior official of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) received a secret and unexplained tax-free payment of over £60,000 from union funds when he retired from the organisation. John McGhee served as a national officer of the FBU for 16 years. During that time, he was one of the… Continue reading Retiring FBU national officer secretly received an unexplained payment of over £60k from union funds