The 2002–2003 UK firefighter dispute was a period of nationwide strike action which began when the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) voted to strike in an attempt to secure better salaries. The FBU demanded a 39 percent increase in pay,which would have brought the average firefighter's wage to around £30,000. It balloted its members for a strike in late 2002 and the industrial action began in November. It was the first nationwide firefighters' strike in the UK since 1977. The strike was led by FBU General Secretary Andy Gilchrist.
Robert Crow was an English trade union leader who served as the General Secretary of the National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) from 2002 until his death in 2014. He was also a member of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC). A self-described "communist/socialist",he was a leading figure in the No to EU –Yes to Democracy campaign.
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020,the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is the main trade union in the United Kingdom for people working for telephone,cable,digital subscriber line (DSL),postal delivery,and tech companies. It has 110,000 members in Royal Mail as well as more in many other communication companies.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is a trade union in the United Kingdom for wholetime firefighters,retained firefighters and emergency control room staff.
The National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers is a British trade union covering the transport sector. Its current President is Alex Gordon and its current General Secretary is Mick Lynch.
Mark Henryk Serwotka is a retired trade unionist who was General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS),the largest trade union representing British civil servants. He was President of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for 2019.
James Fitzpatrick is a British politician and former firefighter who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1997 to 2019,for Poplar and Canning Town until 2010 and for Poplar and Limehouse until his retirement. He is a member of the Labour Party.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London,the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865,under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992 staff,including 5,096 operational firefighters and officers based at 102 fire stations.
The fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England and Wales,Northern Ireland,and Scotland.
Frederick John Horner was a British firefighter,trade unionist and politician,best known for creating the modern Fire Brigades Union.
The awkward squad was an informal grouping of socialist trade unionists in the United Kingdom.
Unite the Union,commonly known as Unite,is a British and Irish trade union which was formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU). Along with Unison,Unite is one of the two largest trade unions in the UK,with over 1.2 million members in construction,manufacturing,transport,logistics and other sectors. The general secretary of Unite is Sharon Graham,who was elected on 25 August 2021 with 46,696 votes on a turnout of 124,127,with her term beginning on 26 August 2021.
Andrew Charles Gilchrist is a British trade unionist and former firefighter who served as the General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union from 2000 to 2005.
Steve Turner is Assistant General Secretary (AGS) of Britain and Ireland's largest trade union,Unite the Union. He is responsible for the union's manufacturing sector,along with its retired members and Unite's community membership.
Ken Cameron was a Scottish trade unionist. He was the head of the Fire Brigades Union for 20 years,from 1980 to 2000.
Zarah Sultana is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry South since the 2019 general election,representing the Labour Party until her suspension. Sultana received a six-month suspension in July 2024 as one of seven Labour MPs who voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap. On the political left,she is a member of,and currently chairs,the Socialist Campaign Group.
Frank Arthur Bailey was a Guyanese-British firefighter and social worker who is known as being one of the first black firefighters in the United Kingdom.
Paul Embery is a British author,political commentator,and trade union activist. He has worked as a columnist for UnHerd and Huffington Post,and has hosted The Political Correction segment of GB News. Embery is a member of the Blue Labour campaign movement.
The Strikes Act 2023 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting UK labour law designed to force trade union workers in England,Scotland and Wales to provide a minimum service during a strike in health,education services,fire and rescue,border security,transport and nuclear decommissioning. The law has been criticised as being not in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto,being a violation of human rights,and being a violation of international law.
