Firefighters are better off than others, says Bain

Interim report on fire service deplores the lack of progress on modernisation, while strike brings law courts to a halt

The interim findings of the Bain report into the future of firefighting calls for the service to be radically transformed from a uniformed force with "quasi-military" traditions into a more broadly based community organisation.

The "position paper", published yesterday ahead of the full report that is due in mid-December, takes issue with the contention of the Fire Brigades Union that firefighters are underpaid.

There should be no "significant" increases in pay without an agreement for equally significant change, the document says. "Firefighters compare well with similar jobs in the public and private sectors. This is true throughout the country. When holidays, pension arrangements and job security are taken into account, they are even better placed." Sir George Bain says ease of recruitment is evidence of firefighters' relatively privileged position.

The document takes issue with the need for a "rigid" pay mechanism to improve firefighters' pay. A deal to end the first national fire strike in 1977 included a wage formula that tied fire crews' earnings to the upper quartile of male manual earnings. Since the mechanism was introduced there have been no national fire strikes and in recent talks employers have expressed their readiness to negotiate a mutually agreeable replacement.

In the report, Sir George says he would be "prepared to contemplate" a more flexible formula to "inform" settlements, provided reforms were accepted. Local flexibility on pay would be encouraged – a trend the FBU has opposed.

Most of the reforms suggested by Sir George have already been tabled by management. One important change involves the abolition of a "quasi-militaristic" approach to discipline. Agreement should also be sought on new shift patterns alongside the present system, which involves two day shifts, two night shifts and then four days off.

A mixture of full-time and part-time firefighters should staff stations where that was thought necessary. All full-timers should be allowed to do part-time work for the brigade on their days off and "retained" (part-time) firefighters should be paid the same as full-timers, the paper suggests.

The report says union should lift its 20-year ban on members working overtime on non-emergency work so that firefighters could work additional hours. More women and members of ethnic minorities should be recruited. Staff would be encouraged to work beyond retirement age. Firefighters should be allowed to train as paramedics and should be more involved in fire prevention, it says.

Sir George's report expresses dismay at the lack of progress on modernisation. "Report after report has recommended change and modernisation. Modest changes have taken place but the major reforms ... have all been neglected," it says.

Some change has been introduced at a local level by both management and the union, but at a national level there has been no significant reform. The Government, local authority employers, senior fire service management and unions must all take their share of the blame, the document says.

The more traditional firefighters – they would prefer to be called firemen – will look askance at the language and sentiments expressed in the paper. It says: "Pay linked directly to reform will unlock the individual's potential and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they can offer. There will be new and exciting career paths, more suited to personal aspirations and circumstances, which enable the individual to take control of their own circumstances and develop in ways which suit them and their families.

"Coupled with this will be greater respect for personal and cultural differences, a more diverse mixture of people employed by the Fire Service, on a range of family- friendly and flexible working patterns. And, over time, as everyone develops their own careers and skills and embraces change, the higher performance which results will bring higher salaries."