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22 June 2009
CIRCULAR EMP/03/09 - PAY AWARD - 2009

To: Chief Fire Officers
Chief Executives/Clerks to Fire Authorities
Chairs of Fire Authorities
Directors of Human Resources

Members of the Employers’ Side of the NJC

19 June 2009
CIRCULAR EMP/03/09

Dear Sir/Madam,

PAY AWARD – 2009

  1. You will be aware from circular EMP/2/09 that a claim for an across the board increase of 2.5% was presented by the Employees’ Side at the last meeting of the National Joint Council on 3 June 2009.
  2. The National Employers responded that they would carefully consider the claim in the context of their on-going consideration of a range of important and competing factors during these difficult economic times and that they would formally respond to the claim at the earliest opportunity.
  3. Those factors include the impact of the current economic recession, levels of inflation, affordability and settlements elsewhere.
  4. I write to advise you that the National Employers have today made an across the board offer of 1.25%. Should it be accepted the effective date will be 1 July 2009.
  5. The National Employers believe this to be a fair and reasonable offer from both an employer and employee perspective and has been made in the spirit of reaching a negotiated settlement. However, it has also been emphasised that this figure is the absolute maximum level of affordability.
  6. A copy of the letter to the Employees’ Side Secretary setting out the offer is attached.
  7. We shall keep you advised of developments.

Yours faithfully,


Gill Gittins
Principal Negotiating Officer

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Matt Wrack
General Secretary
The Fire Brigades Union
Bradley House
68 Coombe Road
Kingston upon Thames
Surrey
KT2 7AE

19 June 2009


Dear Matt

Pay award 2009

Considerable discussion has taken place on the matter of a pay award for this year both through the Joint Working Party and at Joint Secretary level. You will be aware from those discussions that there have been a range of conflicting factors within a set of highly unusual circumstances that we have had to take into consideration for this year’s pay settlement.

Whilst the National Employers must always be mindful of a range of factors, for example affordability, this year we have also had to consider the exceptional impact of the current difficult economic climate upon those factors.

Following the discussions referred to earlier, the verbal indication of your claim at the last National Joint Council meeting on 3rd June and subsequent written confirmation in your letter of 15 June I write to advise you that we are now in a position to make an offer to settle this year’s pay negotiations.

That offer is 1.25% to be applied across the board with effect from 1 July 2009. The offer is made in the context of the current economic recession and the impact it has had on both employers and employees across the economy, including those in the public sector.

We believe settlement at this level would be fair to uniformed fire service employees and to the authorities who employ them. I must emphasise that this figure is at the absolute maximum level of affordability and is offered in the spirit of reaching a negotiated settlement.

We understand that you may wish to consult upon this offer and therefore would be grateful to receive a response as soon as you are aware of the outcome of that consultation, which we hope will be concluded by the end of July.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Messenger
Employers’ Side Secretary