Airport firefighters take part in an exercise last month.
A FULL tribunal of inquiry will be held into what led to the breakdown of pay talks and strike action by the airport firefighters in May.
It comes after a petition, signed by 18 deputies and led by Deputy Mary Lowe, was successfully voted through by States members yesterday lunchtime.
When it will take place, or how much it will cost, is still unknown, but requete leader Deputy Lowe said it was the only real option left to allow deputies to get to the bottom of what went on in the build-up to action at the airport.
More importantly, the tribunal, which will be open to the public, would be completely independent.
It means that a review planned by the Scrutiny Committee, which would have had several deputies sitting on its panel, will now be suspended indefinitely.
However, Unite’s Ron Le Cras, who represented the airport firemen in the dispute, and who sat in the public gallery as the vote of the requete was recorded, said it was a potentially damaging decision. Meanwhile, Scrutiny chairman Barry Brehaut said it had shown the States had an overwhelming lack of confidence in the committee’s ability, as it currently stands, to carry out its mandate.
‘The chief minister has said that the Scrutiny Committee is a toothless tiger. What they have attempted to do is strip out the politics to what clearly had a political dimension.
‘It’s only right that politicians face other politicians who understand the political culture we live in, so it’s no surprise to me that the chief minister favours an independent tribunal.
‘The message I take for Scrutiny from the States is that we are not adequately resourced and seemingly independent enough to carry out a review of this nature.’
The claim that Chief Minister Lyndon Trott did not want to face other politicians in any inquiry was later rejected by the minister himself.
He said the independent route was purely the tougher and more thorough method.
‘The States came to the very clear view today that the Scrutiny process was nothing more than a toothless tiger.
‘We need a proper, independent and objective process.’
Deputy Lowe said the requete’s success showed just how important the members considered the panel’s independence.
‘It is a resounding success and I am delighted that the States has made the right decision today,’ she said.
‘It was so well supported because it is a truly independent process – from this moment on it is nothing to do with us politicians, it is all up to the court now.’
She was not surprised by the support.
‘We already had 18 members who signed the requete, and I was aware others were interested too, but there were time constraints.’
The financial implications of the tribunal had been considered, she said, and HM Comptroller had helped her cause by clarifying them to the Assembly.
In the States Pages 36 & 37
Article posted on 17th July, 2009 - 1.00pm
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