View source for Fire Brigades Union

{{short description|Trade union in the UK for firefighters}}
{{about|the trade union|the administrative law case|R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Fire Brigades Union}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox union
| name                     = Fire Brigades Union
| location_country         = [[United Kingdom]]
| affiliation              = {{ubl|[[Labour Party(UK)|Labour Party]] (1918–2004; 2015–present)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34946967 |title=Fire Brigades Union to re-affiliate to Labour |work=BBC News |date=27 November 2015 |access-date=29 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/firefighters-have-come-back-to-labour-today-because-we-finally-found-a-leader-worth-backing-in-a6751681.html |title=Firefighters have come back to Labour today because we finally found a leader worth backing in Jeremy Corbyn |work=The Independent |date=27 November 2015 |access-date=29 November 2015}}</ref> |[[Amnesty International]] |[[Trades Union Congress|TUC]] |[[Irish Congress of Trade Unions|ICTU]] |[[Scottish Trades Union Congress|STUC]] |[[Trade Union Coordinating Group|TUCG]] |The [[European Federation of Public Service Unions]] |PSI |CSC |JFC |PSC}}
| members                  = {{decrease}} 33,717 (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68592adac9b3bb1663ab909e/FBU_AR21_2024.pdf|title=FBU AR21 Form for the year ending 31 December 2024|website=GOV.UK}}</ref>
| leader_title             = General Secretary
| leader_name              = [[Steve Wright (trade unionist)|Steve Wright]]
| full_name                = 
| logo                     = Fire Brigades Union logo.png
| logo_size                = 200x200px
| image                    = 
| founded                  = {{start date and age|1918}}
| dissolved                = 
| merged                   = 
| headquarters             = [[Kingston upon Thames]]
| leader_title2            = Assistant General Secretary
| leader_name2             = Ben Selby
| leader_title3            = President
| leader_name3             = Ian Murray
| key_people               = 
| website                  = [https://www.fbu.org.uk/ fbu.org.uk]
| footnotes                = 
}}

The '''Fire Brigades Union''' ('''FBU''') is a [[trade union]] in the [[United Kingdom]] for wholetime [[firefighter]]s (including officers up to chief fire officer / firemaster), [[retained firefighter]]s and emergency control room staff.

==History==
=== Early 20th century ===
The first recorded instance of trade union organisation of firefighters was when the [[Municipal Employees' Association]] recruited several [[London County Council]] firemen in early 1905, which by the end of the following year had grown to a branch of 500.<ref>Bailey, V. "The Early History of the Fire Brigades Union" ''In:'' Bailey, V. (1992), pp. 10–11</ref>

After the entire branch had transferred to the rival [[National Union of Corporation Workers]] (NUCW), the branch grew to 1,100 of the 1,300 London firemen and to protect the then branch secretary from potential dismissal, sub-officer E. W. Southgate handed over branch secretaryship to [[Jim Bradley (trade unionist)|Jim Bradley]], a London park-keeper who had been nominated by the union's executive.<ref>Bailey, V. "The Early History of the Fire Brigades Union" ''In:'' Bailey, V. (1992), p. 11</ref>

Following the strike of police officers on 29 August 1918, Bradley organised a secret ballot of firemen on the issue of strike action over pay and conditions. After winning the right to a representative board for London firemen, the fire brigade branch of NUCW seceded from the union to join the Firemen's Trade Union, what had been a friendly society for around 200 firemen in private brigades led by George Gamble, with Bradley becoming assistant secretary.<ref>Bailey, V. "The Early History of the Fire Brigades Union" ''In:'' Bailey, V. (1992), p. 17</ref>

In 1930, the union changed its name to the Fire Brigades Union.

===Second World War===
The Air Raid Precautions Act (1937) contained provisions for recruiting a volunteer force of auxiliaries to supplement existing fire brigades, which were called up on 1 September 1939. The 95,000 called up (89,000 men, 6,000 women) formed the [[Auxiliary Fire Service]] (AFS) far outnumbered the around 6,000 full-time regulars. AFS firefighters were on worse conditions, with regular firemen promoted to be their officers. The war emergency also saw the re-instatement of continuous duty service, which was dropped after a week in favour of a 112-hour week.<ref>Bailey, V. "The Early History of the Fire Brigades Union" ''In:'' Bailey, V. (1992), pp. 40–43</ref>

The question of the AFS transformed the union, the incumbent leadership, headed by General Secretary [[Percy Kingdom]], held that the AFS were dilutees and therefore should be marginalised. This view was challenged by [[John Horner (British politician)|John Horner]] and other young firemen and over the course of a protracted dispute which saw all the union's full-time officials resign, Horner was elected General Secretary.<ref>Bailey, V. "The Early History of the Fire Brigades Union" ''In:'' Bailey, V.  (1992), pp. 43–44</ref> Horner then began organising auxiliaries, winning endorsement of this at the 1940 conference of the regular section of the union and saw the union's membership increase from 3,500 in 1939 to 66,500 in 1940.<ref>Bailey, V. "The Early History of the Fire Brigades Union" ''In:'' Bailey, V.  (1992), p. 45</ref>

As a result of the London Blitz, the fire service was nationalised in 1941 by the powers of the Fire Services (Emergency Provisions) Bill.<ref>Bailey, V. "The Early History of the Fire Brigades Union" ''In:'' Bailey, V.  (1992), pp. 54–55</ref>

=== 21st century ===
Led by its then General Secretary Andy Gilchrist, the union called a [[2002–2003 United Kingdom firefighter dispute|strike]] over pay and conditions in 2002, following an independent review of pay carried out by the same organisation that reviewed MPs' pay. The strike did not achieve its goals, and on 5 May 2005 a left wing candidate, [[Matt Wrack]], defeated Gilchrist in the election for General Secretary, attaining 63.9% of the vote cast (12,883 votes) on a total turnout of about 40% of the membership.
[[File:FBU members striking 08 Feb 2023.jpg|alt=FBU Picketing on 8 Feb 2023|left|thumb|FBU Picketing on 8 Feb 2023]]

In August 2013, FBU members were balloted with 78% voting in favour of industrial action, in a dispute of pensions.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23884078|title = Firefighters back industrial action in pensions row|date = 29 August 2013|access-date = 26 October 2014|website = BBC News|publisher = BBC}}</ref> The first strike took place on 25 September 2013 for four hours.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24129141|title = Firefighters confirm four-hour strike in England and Wales|date = 17 September 2013|access-date = 29 October 2014|website = BBC News|publisher = BBC}}</ref> Periods of industrial action have continued throughout 2013 and 2014, when the dispute escalated with a 96-hour strike called from 31 October to 4 November 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/firefighters-announce-strike-on-the-days-leading-up-to-bonfire-night-9816597.html|title = Firefighters announce strike on the days leading up to Bonfire Night|date = 24 October 2014|access-date = 26 October 2014|website = London Evening Standard}}</ref>
[[File:FBU_picket_at_Sprowston_Road_Fire_Station,_November_2013.jpg|thumb|A Fire Brigades Union [[Picketing|picket]] at Sprowston Road Fire Station in November 2013]]
On 30 January 2023, FBU members voted to go on strike, with  88% in favour of strike action, on a 73% turnout.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sparrow |first=Andrew |date=2023-01-30 |title=Firefighters vote for first national strike in 20 years as talks to avert teacher strikes fail – as it happened |language=en-GB |work=the Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2023/jan/30/rishi-sunak-questions-nadhim-zahawi-sacking-tax-uk-politics-live |access-date=2023-02-15 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> On 11 February 2023 the FBU recommended that its members accept a revised pay offer of a 7% rise backdated to July 2022 and a further 5% increase from 1 July 2023, and it postponed planned strike action for workers to vote on the offer.

In February 2024, 114 firefighters who had attended the [[Grenfell Tower fire]] in 2017 were awarded a total of £20m in a lawsuit led by the FBU against the [[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]], [[Arconic]], [[Celotex]], and [[Saint-Gobain]].<ref>{{cite web|date=1 February 2024|title=Grenfell Tower firefighters win £20m damages in out of court settlement|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/01/grenfell-tower-firefighters-win-20m-damages-in-out-of-court-settlement|author-last=Booth|author-first=Robert|access-date=13 May 2024|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

In January 2025, Matt Wrack lost his bid for re-election to the union's vice-president, Steve Wright, by 1,752 votes. However, later the FBU discovered the independent scrutineer had never sent ballot papers to 3,059 members, more than the majority, which could have required the election be rerun.<ref name=labourlist-20250204>{{cite news |url=https://labourlist.org/2025/02/fbu-general-secretary-election-ballots-re-run/ |title=FBU risks general secretary election re-run over missing ballots |last=Green |first=Daniel |website=LabourList |date=4 February 2025 |access-date=19 March 2025}}</ref> Wrack decided not to stand again, saving the FBU from rerunning the election.<ref name=labourlist-20250305>{{cite news |url=https://labourlist.org/2025/03/matt-wrack-fbu-nasuwt-general-secretary/ |title=Ex-FBU leader Matt Wrack nominated to become NASUWT general secretary |last=Green |first=Daniel |website=LabourList |date=5 March 2025 |access-date=19 March 2025}}</ref>

== Relations with the Labour Party ==
The FBU disaffiliated from the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] in 2004 due to the union's opposition of policies put in place by the then prime minister and party leader, [[Tony Blair]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34946967 'The union split from Labour in 2004 in opposition to Tony Blair's policies'.]<br />bbc.co.uk<br />Published 27/11/15. Retrieved 29/11/15</ref> In November 2015, the FBU re-affiliated with the Labour Party due to the union's backing of the party's new leader [[Jeremy Corbyn]] and his commitment to anti-austerity politics.<ref name="independent">{{cite news |last=Wrack|first=Matt|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/firefighters-have-come-back-to-labour-today-because-we-finally-found-a-leader-worth-backing-in-a6751681.html|title=Firefighters have come back to Labour today because we finally found a leader worth backing in Jeremy Corbyn|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=27 November 2015|access-date=29 November 2015}}</ref>

===Parliamentary elections===
The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in several Parliamentary elections.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Election !! Constituency !! Candidate !! Votes !! Percentage !! Position
|-
| [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 general election]] || [[Oldbury and Halesowen (UK Parliament constituency)|Oldbury and Halesowen]] || {{sortname|John|Horner|John Horner (British politician)}} || 22,099 || 40.6 || 1<ref name="lab64">[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], ''Report of the Sixty-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party'', pp.158-180</ref>
|-
| [[1966 United Kingdom general election|1966 general election]] || [[Oldbury and Halesowen (UK Parliament constituency)|Oldbury and Halesowen]] || {{sortname|John|Horner|John Horner (British politician)}} || 28,490 || 53.2 || 1<ref name="lab66">[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], ''Report of the Sixty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party'', pp.308-330</ref>
|-
| [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]] || [[Oldbury and Halesowen (UK Parliament constituency)|Oldbury and Halesowen]] || {{sortname|John|Horner|John Horner (British politician)}} || 26,499 || 47.4 || 2<ref name="lab70">[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], ''Report of the Sixty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Labour Party'', pp.289-312</ref>
|}<!--- Also one successful candidate in 1987 - possibly Terry Fields? !--->

== Other activities ==
=== Climate crisis ===
In 2020, the FBU co-signed a letter with [[Friends of the Earth]] and [[Greenpeace]] to [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] [[Rishi Sunak]] warning that fire services in the UK were "exposed and ill-resourced to respond effectively to a climate in breakdown."<ref>{{cite web|date=29 September 2023|title=Firefighters on 'frontlines of climate crisis' without enough support, warns union chief|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/firefighters-climate-change-crisis-b1761830.html|author-last=Dunne|author-first=Daisy|access-date=13 May 2024|work=The Independent}}</ref>
In 2023, the union released a report in which it said that the UK was "woefully underprepared" to handle the increased risk of [[Wildfire#Climate_change_effects|wildfires caused by the climate crisis]].<ref>{{cite web|date=29 September 2023|title=UK unready as wildfires surge, warns firefighters' union|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66948836|author-last=Prior|author-first=Malcolm|access-date=13 May 2024|work=BBC}}</ref>

=== Palestine ===
The FBU has maintained a support team for firefighters in the occupied [[Palestinian territories]] since the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|date=11 December 2015|title=Palestine, Israel, Scotland … firefighting that knows no borders|url=https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/dec/11/palestine-israel-scotland-firefighting-borders-west-bank|author-last=Larsson Piñeda|author-first=Naomi|access-date=13 May 2024|work=The Guardian}}</ref> In 2011, the Scottish branch of the union donated two fire engines to the city of [[Nablus]] in the [[West Bank]].<ref>{{cite web|date=3 October 2011|title=Fire engines donated to West Bank|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-15148774|author-last=|author-first=|access-date=13 May 2024|work=BBC}}</ref> In 2024, the union advised its members not to comply with police requests to help remove protestors [[Gaza war protests in the United Kingdom|protesting against the Israel-Hamas War]].<ref>{{cite web|date=9 May 2024|title=UK Fire Brigades Union calls on members not to help police remove pro-Palestine protesters|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240509-uk-fire-brigades-union-calls-on-members-not-to-help-police-remove-pro-palestine-protesters/|author-last=|author-first=|access-date=13 May 2024|work=Middle East Monitor}}</ref>

== Controversies ==
A report commissioned by the FBU in 2023 found that a third of female members of the union had experienced sexual harassment at union events.<ref>{{cite web|date=7 February 2024|title=Almost third of female firefighters have faced harassment at FBU events, report finds|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/07/almost-third-of-female-firefighters-have-faced-harassment-at-fbu-events-report-finds-union|author-last=Syal|author-first=Rajeev|access-date=13 May 2024|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

==Officials==
===General secretaries===
*1918{{ndash}}1922 [[George Gamble (trade unionist)|George Gamble]]
*1922{{ndash}}1929 [[Jim Bradley (trade unionist)|Jim Bradley]]
*1929{{ndash}}1939 [[Percy Kingdom]]
*1939{{ndash}}1964 [[John Horner (British politician)|John Horner]]
*1964{{ndash}}1980 [[Terry Parry]]
*1980{{ndash}}2000 [[Ken Cameron (trade unionist)|Ken Cameron]]
*2000{{ndash}}2005 [[Andy Gilchrist]]
*2005{{ndash}}2025 [[Matt Wrack]]
*2025{{ndash}}present [[Steve Wright (trade unionist)|Steve Wright]]

===Assistant general secretaries===
*1939 Harry Short
*1946 Jack Grahl
*1957 Tom Harris
*1974 Dick Foggie
*1982{{ndash}}2005 Mike Fordham
*2005{{ndash}}2023 Andy Dark
*2023 - Ben Selby

===Presidents===
*1939{{ndash}}1944 Gus Odlin
*1944{{ndash}}1959 John Burns
*1959{{ndash}}1964 [[Terry Parry]]
*1964{{ndash}}1977 [[Enoch Humphries]]
*1977{{ndash}}1979 Wilf Barber
*1979{{ndash}}1986 Bill Deal
*1986{{ndash}}1991 Stan Fitzsimmons
*1991{{ndash}}1999 Ronnie Scott
*1999{{ndash}}2002 Mick Harper
*2002{{ndash}}2007 Ruth Winters
*2007{{ndash}}2010 Mick Shaw
*2011{{ndash}}2018 Alan McLean
*2018{{ndash}}present Ian Murray

==See also==
{{Portal|Organised labour}}
* [[National Fire Savers Credit Union]]
*[[Frank Bailey (firefighter)|Frank Bailey]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Bailey, Victor (ed.) (1992) ''Forged in Fire: the history of the Fire Brigades Union''. London: Lawrence & Wishart {{ISBN|0-85315-750-2}}

==External links==
*{{Official website}}
*[https://mrc.epexio.com/records/FBU Catalogue of the FBU archives], held at the [[Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick]]

{{Trades Union Congress}}
{{Irish Congress of Trade Unions}}

[[Category:Trade unions in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Firefighters associations]]
[[Category:1918 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Trade unions established in 1918]]
[[Category:Trade unions affiliated with the Labour Party (UK)]]
[[Category:Fire and rescue in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Trade unions based in London]]
[[Category:Trade unions affiliated with the Trades Union Congress]]
[[Category:Trade unions affiliated with the Scottish Trades Union Congress]]