Bain admits pay scheme could mean more strikes

Call for reform includes automatic wage deal, change in shift patterns with fewer frontline staff, and greater focus on prevention

Sir George Bain admitted yesterday that his new "flexible" pay system for firefighters could lead to national strikes every two years. Unlike the existing pay formula, Sir George's plan for "top to bottom" reform, published yesterday, would allow scope for regular negotiation over wages, and therefore conflict, he conceded.

The Bain report into the fire service proposes replacing an automatic wage mechanism, which dictated the level of pay, with a formula that simply "informs" the bargaining process. The previous automatic arrangement, which settled the first national fire strike in 1978, resulted in 25 years without industrial action over pay. In effect, it amounted to a "no strike" deal.

Launching his 160-page report, The Future of the Fire Service: reducing risk, saving lives, Sir George indicated that he was prepared to sacrifice guaranteed industrial peace for greater flexibility.

Several submissions to the review raised the question of whether there should be restrictions on the right of firefighters to strike, but Sir George said this should be a matter for the Government.

The document recommends an 11 per cent pay rise over two years, compared with the demand from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) for a 40 per cent immediate increase, which would put qualified firefighters on £30,000 a year.

Sir George proposes that a4 per cent increase backdated to November should be contingent on a commitment by the FBU to fundamental change. Another 7 per cent would only be paid from next November if the National Audit Commission accepted that the new working practices were being implemented. Any new formula to "inform" wage negotiations would not be introduced until 2004 and would be part of a system of biennial settlements.

The TUC had hoped that the new formula could have been introduced next year, giving scope for an increase above 11 per cent.

Sir George's position is tougher than the fire authority employers, who were prepared to agree a fully automatic wage mechanism and offered 4 per cent from November without "strings".

The inquiry chairman said firefighters were "relatively well paid" even before an excellent pension scheme, job security and holiday entitlements were taken into account.

"The base salary of firefighters is very competitive in relation to both the industry and service and public sector markets," the report said, adding that firefighters were well paid compared to nursing and ambulance staff, but less well paid than prison officers.

A firefighter with less than five years' service is paid a basic wage of £21,531, but the report said this could increase to £23,960 if the suggested rise was paid over the next two years. A firefighter with 15 years of service could see a pay rise from £25,662 to £29,336 in London and from £22,491 to £25,028 elsewhere.

Sir George said the purpose of the report was to bring the fire service up to the best standards of other organisations at the beginning of the 21st century and that meant "changing just about everything". The authors of the paper ­ who also included Professor Sir Michael Lyons of Birmingham University and Sir Tony Young, former president of the TUC ­ said they were "surprised" at the extent to which the service has fallen behind best practice in the public and private sector.

Sir George's proposals call for fewer frontline firefighters, but more employees involved in prevention work.

The review admitted that many of the recommendations would require extra funding, including medical training and recruitment of more human resources staff to improve management. Medical training could cost £15m over the next three years, while overtime payments might amount to £22m and additional pay-bill costs could be £140m.

But reforms would save money, including £20m on occupational health provision, merging fire, police and ambulance control rooms and "outsourcing" vehicle maintenance.

The proposed changes could be self-funding within three years and yield "positive savings" in subsequent years. Sir George said the Government may need to provide around £35m in transitional funding to meet the shortfall before efficiency savings kicked in.

"In the first two of three years we are talking about, you see, the costs are greater than the benefits," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.

"It is not until the third year that the benefits come through sufficiently strongly to actually begin to pay for the 11 per cent and the other costs that would be involved in reform. So there is clearly a shortfall."

Sir George insisted that his 12-week inquiry produced a "thorough and objective" report despite the FBU's refusal to participate.

He said the inquiry had the backing of John Monks, the TUC general secretary, despite a resolution passed by the TUC's ruling general council backing the FBU's campaign for higher wages.

The main points

* Every aspect of the fire service needs reform, ranging from shift patterns and overtime to concentrating on the prevention of fires rather than the "cure", the Bain report says;

* The traditional shift pattern of two days and two nights followed by four days off could be retained, but more flexibility was needed;

* Recruits should be offered a greater choice of working hours and times;

* The report calls for more female employees and more recruits from ethnic minorities. At present, 99 per cent of firefighters are male and 98.5per cent white;

* Different crewing levels should work at different times, and mixed crewing of appliances by full-time and retained firefighters should be encouraged;

* Firefighters should work voluntary overtime, such as on fire-prevention schemes, to reduce need for second jobs. The Fire Brigades Union enforces a 20-year-old ban on non-emergency overtime;

* Brigades should consider charging insurance firms for costs of road crashes.