‘Dunblane-style inquiry needed to look into firefighter dispute’
Monday 22nd June 2009, 2:29PM BST.
AN INDEPENDENT public inquiry into the airport firefighters’ issue is essential, according to a briefing note sent to deputies.
The paper, compiled by States chief executive Mike Brown and Crown Advocate Richard McMahon, said that its terms of reference could be drawn widely enough to allow it to cover all eventualities.
They cite the examples of Lord Cullen’s inquiry into the Dunblane shootings, the Hutton inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly, the second part of the inquiry into the murders by Dr Harold Shipman and Lord Laming’s into the issues surrounding the death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie.
Neither Mr Brown nor Advocate McMahon, who is seconded to the Policy Council from St James’ Chambers, was directly involved in the events surrounding the ending of the dispute.
They said that there was a precedent in 1984 when the States, on the recommendation of the Advisory and Finance Committee, appointed an independent committee of inquiry into the Barnett Christie affair.
A copy of the briefing note, in which the men also comment on Deputy Mary Lowe’s requete, was passed to the Guernsey Press on Saturday after deputies received it on Friday night.
In it, the authors said that an independent inquiry into all the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the breakdown in communications is needed ‘to preserve and maintain confidence in the government of this island’.
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These comparisons are in extremely bad taste.
As unfortunate as the airport disruption was, it hardly compares to the atrocities committed by Hamilton and Shipman.
Has the Press missed the real story here?
Get a grip!
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Surely there are other public enquiries they could have cited? Why choose enquiries that were instigated after many deaths, all of which were horrific. Whilst I appreaciate that those enquiries surrounded up to and action at the time (to see where the blame lay) the firefighters dispute is nothing like them. Yes there maybe blame to be laid at someone’s door, but surely such emminent individuals could have found other terms of reference.
I am sure there will be the usual posters to the blogs who will say I am over sensitive, then at least I am – unlike Mr Brown and Advocate McMahon.
P:S Does the press have plans to print the briefing notes and information it now has?
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i agree with the above comments. On catching up with the GP over the last few days I was appalled that the mini strike by the ff can be compared with anything like the atrocities of Dunblane; Harold Shipman murders; Victoria Climbie murder or the death of Dr David Kelly.
OK – there is no disputing the disruption the ff lightening strike caused and the fact that it ruined peoples holidays, affected businesses etc should not be dismissed lightly.
The cost of such an enquiry would run into many many thousands of pounds – much more than the cost of getting them to get back to work. What is needed is a public enquiry that asks the right questions and provides answers as to why it happened in the first place.
I do agree that whoever is going to be in charge of public sector pay should ensure there is a no strike clause as we do not want this island to be held to ransom BUT the pay and conditions have to be fair, comparable with the private sector if we wish to keep highly motivated and competent staff in the public sector and also affordable. I know this is a tall order but at the end of the day Guernsey plc are still successful. Would ff refusing to work on their days off be counted as strike action? I don’t think so so it would need to ensure there were some measures built in to ensure that both planned and unplanned absences would be covered to enable to airport to remain fully functional. We have enough States departments i.e. scrutiny or PAC or something similar that surely this could be done both fairly and independently at a fair cost. If this is the best that that head of the Civil Service and a Crown Advocate can come up with i fear that this enquiry is going to cost much more than giving all public sector employees a £4000 remuneration bonus!
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