The Suffolk Hyde Affair - Doc 185 Suffolk Women Firefighter

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Meeting with Waveney Constituency
Member of Parliament Bob Blizzard
10.30 hrs Saturday 22nd May 1999

Firefighter M Hyde and Sub Officer Wigglesworth arranged to meet with Mr Bob Blizzard MP to discuss the unlawful practices and deterioration of general management standards by Suffolk Fire Service in the administration of organisational discipline.

Arriving for Mr Blizzard’s surgery at the arranged time other business delayed the start of the meeting which, began at approximately 10.45. Also present was Mr Blizzard’s constituency secretary (at the time David thingy?). The length of the meeting and associated discussion lasted for about 30 minutes.

During this time both Firefighter Hyde and Sub Officer Wigglesworth were given the opportunity to state their concerns and recent real experiences with the management of discipline in the Suffolk fire Service. Mr Blizzard was also provided with documentary evidence of the unlawful actions by Suffolk Fire Service officers, in the preceding nine months. This included the admission of liability to breach of contract and settlement of that complaint by Firefighter Hyde. Also included was admission of the unlawful deduction of Sub Officer Wigglesworth’s wages by DCFO Simon Smith as recorded on the employment tribunal register in November 1998.

Mr Blizzard said he was concerned to here of such behaviour from a public service. Stating

‘ This type of behaviour is not the best way to run an emergency service.’

And

(to Firefighter Hyde) ‘I find it extraordinary that you can be disciplined when they have admitted their actions were unlawful, amazing!’

Mr Blizzard indicated that he would take these issues up with the Suffolk County Council Chief Executive Mrs Lin Homer and ensure his attention was noted. That said Mr Blizzard said that he considered he could do little else at the moment. In particular, he was at pains to point out that he could not act as a substitute for the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) who he felt should be taking issue with the managerial behaviour of Suffolk Fire Service.

As a former teacher and union member he felt that the efforts of the FBU leadership and full-time officers seemed to be lacking.

As Mr Blizzard said

(To Firefighter Hyde) ‘ If your senior union leaders are allowing you to be disciplined from something arising out of Suffolk’s unlawful action then I think I must be in a better union than you.’

This was particularly in response to the blatant disregard for statutory regulations in connection with the Suffolk Fire Service’s personnel manager’s latest decision to refuse Firefighter his rightful choice of witnesses. The bottom-line being that if the personnel manager is acting unlawfully it should be challenge in a court of law.

With regard to the claim of Firefighter Hyde and Sub Officer that there had a significant rise in formal discipline prosecutions made by Suffolk fire Service since the appointment of DCFO Simon Smith. Mr Blizzard said he would get that statistical information from the Suffolk Chief Executive.

With Mr Blizzard promising to pursue the matter raised the meeting between the constituents and MP closed.