AN ANNOUNCEMENT yesterday that agreement has finally been reached with the airport firefighters over the long-running and probably most costly dispute in Guernsey’s history ought to be a cause for celebration.

Certainly from the men’s point of view, it is. After being exonerated by the tribunal of inquiry, they now have the satisfaction of the States pay negotiator acknowledging in public that their grievances over the years have finally been settled.

For that, the island can breathe a sigh of relief. No strike agreements and guaranteed cover are significant milestones and it is clear that extensive and successful negotiations have taken place to lead to that.

But is this a good deal for those islanders footing the bill? Who knows? The chairman of the Public Sector Remuneration Committee certainly isn’t saying.

Less than a week after the tribunal of inquiry was urging greater openness, the PSRC is making clear that it has no intention of going down that path and may even release less – if possible – information about the deals it strikes on behalf of taxpayers.

In the case of the firefighters, it suggests that the men will undertake extra duties, but specifies none, and hints that the deal might be self-financing because two posts have been saved.

PSRC’s statement drips with weasel words, such as claiming the £4,000 temporary payment will be discontinued, but not explaining what replaces it, and talking about non-pensionable payments but not mentioning areas that do affect pension.

It also suggests that the cost of the settlement is 7.8%, when it is actually probably closer to 14%.

In short, the PSRC statement cannot be relied on to give a true picture of what has actually been negotiated and that’s unfortunate.

If this is a good settlement – and there are some excellent elements in it – then firefighters and employer should be prepared to stand by it and let the facts explain for themselves why this represents a fair deal, including for the taxpayer.

Instead, the States has been given a document that is deliberately ambiguous and shows yet again how far Guernsey really is from open and transparent government.