Blog

A LEAKED DOCUMENT appears to show that one of the FBU’s most senior officials used thousands of pounds of members’ money to fight a PRIVATE legal claim that had been lodged against him. A copy of the minutes of an FBU executive council meeting held in 2022, and which has been passed to this blog,… Continue reading Meet the FBU national officer who “used members’ money” to fight a personal legal case

IN JULY 2023, this blog reported that the FBU’s executive council member for London, David Shek, had written to the general secretary, Matt Wrack, to demand full disclosure of all information relating to secret exit payments made to departing members of the union’s staff, including elected national officers. Vast sums of FBU members’ money were… Continue reading Extraordinary twist in FBU ‘hush money’ affair as general secretary REFUSES to provide financial information to executive council member and regional committee

THE OFFICIAL trade union watchdog has REOPENED her inquiry into allegations of financial irregularities at the top of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). Back in July, this blog reported that several members and former officials of the union had made a formal complaint to the watchdog – whose official title is the ‘certification officer’ –… Continue reading Trade union watchdog REOPENS inquiry into secret exit payments to FBU national officers

BACK IN APRIL, this blog reported that an unnamed member of the FBU’s ruling executive council (EC) had lodged a legal claim of discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 against the union’s general secretary, Matt Wrack. At the time, details were sketchy. However, we can now reveal that the EC member in question is London… Continue reading FBU general secretary hit with racial discrimination claim by serving executive council member

THE PAY SETTLEMENT reached between the FBU and national fire service employers through the National Joint Council (NJC) in March this year included an agreement that joint working parties would be established to discuss several related aspects of the union’s pay claim, including future pay progression and structure, retained duty system pay, and continuous professional… Continue reading Crucial pay discussions: what is going on?

THIS BLOG CAN reveal that the FBU general secretary, Matt Wrack, sent an angry late-night email to members of the union’s executive council (EC) denying a charge by this blog that a threat to discipline members who joined a breakaway union was unlawful. The threat was contained in a statement issued on 18 September by… Continue reading FBU general secretary in late-night email outburst over unlawful discipline threat

THERE IS NOW the likelihood of a significant and historic split in the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) following the launch of a breakaway organisation in the union’s second-largest region. A group calling itself the ‘London Firefighters Union’ (LFU) – reportedly the creation of a number of serving FBU officials – recently signalled its arrival via… Continue reading FBU on brink of major rupture as breakaway union launched

WORD REACHES THIS blog via sources in the London region of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) that the executive council member for that region, Dave Shek, has written to the general secretary, Matt Wrack, to demand full disclosure of all information relating to secret exit payments and gagging clauses issued to departing members of the… Continue reading FBU general secretary under pressure to come clean after London regional committee demands full disclosure on “hush money” payments

THE SCANDAL AROUND secret exit payments at the top of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is set to take a very serious turn following the discovery by this blog that the union’s leadership breached its legal duty to declare substantial pay-offs it had made to three departing national officers in financial statements it sent to… Continue reading REVEALED: how FBU leadership ILLEGALLY HID bumper exit payments to senior officials from trade union regulator and union’s members

THE ‘C’ WORD. Corruption. A serious charge, and not one that should ever be made lightly. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to discuss the events that have occurred at the top of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) without the word seeping into the conversation. Anyone who doubts this should look at the facts –… Continue reading The events taking place at the top of the Fire Brigades Union are shocking. Is it time to start using the ‘c’ word?