IN LATE 2018, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) won a significant legal victory in the court of appeal. The court ruled that changes imposed by the-then Tory government to firefighters’ pensions, which included an increase in the normal pension age, were discriminatory – and therefore unlawful.
The following year the supreme court denied the government leave to appeal, and an employment tribunal further ruled that firefighters were entitled to be treated as though they were still members of their previous pension scheme (though all remaining legacy scheme members were eventually moved to a reformed scheme in 2022).
Immediately after the tribunal ruling, the FBU’s head office announced that the union would now pursue injury-to-feelings (ITF) claims on behalf of members affected by the unlawful changes.
A full three years later, in 2022, the-then general secretary, Matt Wrack, announced in a circular that the union had finally reached an agreement on the ITF payments with the government. The agreement would see most affected members receive a payment of nearly £4,000.
Yet here we are, in the year 2025, and many members still haven’t received that payment.
While the FBU deserves credit for taking on the original legal dispute and securing a tremendous victory for members, it is impossible to deny that the whole situation has now become intolerable. For so many members to have still not received their compensation payment nearly seven years after the union won the original court victory, and two and a half years after agreement was reached with the government, is little short of scandalous.
What the hell is going on?
While it is true that there has been the occasional circular from head office updating members on the situation, those circulars rarely contain anything of value. They are usually little more than an exercise in urging members to remain patient while the payments are being processed.
Members who are owed the payment have been told that they have been grouped into ‘waves’ and those waves are sub-divided into ‘tranches’, with each wave and tranche destined to receive the payment at a different time. But, quite understandably, members are not especially interested in the mechanics of the process; they just want to know when they will receive their money.
Firefighters groups on social media are abuzz with discussion about the lack of progress on the payments. Many had hoped to receive the payment during the cost-of-living crisis and were extremely disappointed when it didn’t come. Is the union’s leadership aware of this mood of discontent? It doesn’t seem to be. There appears to be no serious campaign around the issue. Members who enquire about their outstanding payment are simply given a standard response that the government is being chased.
In fact, the leadership has issued more statements about the war in Gaza over the past 18 months than it has about the outstanding ITF payments. That just isn’t good enough. Bread and butter issues should always come first.
The leadership needs to get a grip of the situation – and quickly. A circular needs to be issued, and the leadership needs to make it clear to members that this issue is being treated as a top priority.
The leadership should also provide more information about the agreement reached with the government over the payments in 2022. Is there a written copy of that agreement? What are its terms? Was a deadline set for transaction of all payments? If not, why not? Can members see a copy of the agreement? It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the agreement was so loose that the government has felt able to drag the matter out for far longer than ought to have been the case.
Enough is enough. This situation has rumbled on for far too long. Either all outstanding payments should be made immediately, or the union’s leadership should commence a serious campaign – including consideration of legal action if necessary – to ensure that members are paid the money they are owed.