All Station/Brigade Reps - Briefing Note 01/09

I am writing to provide you with an update on the Preston and Matthews claims, which were brought in the early 1990’s and in 2000/2001 respectively, seeking retrospective access to the Firemens Pension scheme and to equal terms and conditions with wholetime fire fighters.

As you know, these claims have been outstanding for some considerable time now and we appreciate that frustration is growing as to the lack of progress being made regarding compensation. This is particularly so when the claims were held to be successful by the Employment Tribunal last year.

We would wish to reassure you that, contrary to some recent suggestions made by others, we are fighting the cause of our members on these important issues and were, in fact, the first Union to do so. Please, therefore, do not think that the delay is as a result of any inaction on our part or that we are not representing your interests in relation to these claims.

We share our member’s frustration, but the issues involved in these claims are complex, as is the method of calculating retrospective access to a pension scheme. Accordingly, it is perhaps not surprising that it is taking some time for settlement discussions to progress towards a satisfactory conclusion.

Unfortunately, the position remains that settlement discussions remain ongoing between the interested parties, and being realistic, a conclusion is not immediately foreseeable. We shall continue to press for a resolution, though, and will provide you with further information as soon as we are able to do so.

In the meantime, should you have any concerns regarding these claims, or consider that you might have a valid claim yourself, please do not hesitate to contact your local RFU representative.

John Barton
General Secretary