A recent call from British fire minister Brandon Lewis to privatize all of Britain’s fire and rescue service will cost lives, according to Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack.
Lewis recently wrote to the Regulatory Reform Committee at Westminster in search of views on new laws to “enable fire and rescue authorities in England to contract out their full range of services to a suitable provider”.
As Wrack sees it, “Just privatizing parts of the service has already brought near-disaster. AssetCo, which was given the contract to maintain London’s and Lincolnshire’s fleets of fire engines, failed to do so properly and, when the company collapsed, could have lost them altogether to AssetCo’s creditors.
“While profiting from our public service they were unable to meet their commitments to maintain and renew fire engines and equipment. London and Lincolnshire firefighters reported all kinds of problems.”
Proposals Seen as Sacrifice of Lives On the Altar of Profit
Wrack went on to note in his word that the proposals were nothing short of grotesque, implying that if they come to fruition, they will undoubtedly lead to a sacrifice of lives on the altar of profit.
“This is the same disastrous model that has been used in the health service, the rail industry and local government to slash services while providing bountiful profits for private companies,” Wrack added.
The fire minister’s letter claims local support for mutualization in Cleveland and that contracting out provides more choice.
“This is not an employee-led local initiative,” Wrack went on to say. “It’s simply a cost-cutting measure. Firefighters in Cleveland and elsewhere have told the FBU they do not want privatization, they do not want mutualization and they do not want contracting out. They want to provide a first class service to the public and have professional pay and conditions of service.
According to Wrack, “There is no public demand for privatizing the fire and rescue service. There is no support among firefighters for these measures. The government should stop now before they do untold damage.”
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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