Fire & Rescue Service begins industrial action after night-shift disturbance claim dismissed by Govt

The Fire and Rescue Service has began industrial action after having its night-shift disturbance claim dismissed by Government.

Unite the Union says the Government has confirmed it will not enter into any further negotiations but says it is always willing to carry on talking.  

The GFRS is planning a walk out from the station to Number six every Thursday where it will hold a peaceful demonstration. 

It says it's worked to avoid escalation or any form of industrial action despite ongoing delays. However, firefightersbelieve they have now been left with no alternative following the Government's refusal to continue discussions and its failure to provide its own study.

The claim concerns the current “all-inclusive” firefighter salary, which is applied uniformly despite some operational roles routinely providing overnight emergency response as part of a 24-hour service. Unite says GFRS firefightersregularly respond to incidents throughout the night to protect the community, yet the pay structure does not recognise the additional impact associated with these working patterns.

The Fire and Rescue Service says firefighters who routinely undertake overnight emergency duties should receive appropriate recognition for the additional impact on health, family life and wellbeing, consistent with shift-working policies applied across other public-sector roles.

The Fire Service “Grey Book” terms and conditions document represents a minimum standard. It provides a baseline for pay and conditions while allowing individual services to negotiate allowances reflecting operational demands, responsibilities and working patterns, including shift disturbance.

 It says comparable public-sector roles and many fire services elsewhere receive additional payments or allowances recognising nightshift working and operational disruption.

During discussions with Industrial Relations, Unite and GFRS representatives believe they identified a solution that aligned Government policy with the GFRS claim and provided a fair, structured and cost-effective approach with minimal financial impact. This proposal, they say, has been rejected by senior Government officials without explanation or rationale.  GBC understands part of the reasoning is the domino effect on other Government departments.

They add that despite the issue being raised repeatedly for more than six years, Government has confirmed that no formal review of firefighter pay and conditions has been undertaken.

 GFRS Shop Stewards say firefighters respond to emergencies at all hours to protect lives, property and the community. They say they're not asking for special treatment, but for fair recognition of a 24-hour emergency service. Treating roles that routinely provide overnight emergency cover the same as roles that do not, they say, fails to reflect the reality of the job.

GFRS and Unite the Union are calling on the Government to return to negotiations and undertake a proper review of pay and conditions that reflects the operational duties, risks and responsibilities undertaken by Gibraltar’s firefighters, both day and night. 

Firefighters will continue to provide full emergency response cover to the public and provide full operational cover.