FBU general secretary Matt Wrack wrote to fire service employers on 6 December to ask for immediate talks on pay for firefighters and fire control staff.
The next pay round is due to take effect on 1 July 2025, and the union is keen that a deal is reached in time for any increase to be paid immediately. In his letter to Sarah Ward, secretary of the employers’ side of the National Joint Council (NJC), Wrack said that he wanted to “build on progress made for 2022, 2023 and 2024”, which were “the result of intense negotiation at the NJC”.
Last year’s pay increase was for 4%.
It came alongside a significant increase to the retainer paid to RDS firefighters, as well as a minimum of 26 weeks’ paid
maternity leave across the UK (the FBU is campaigning for 52 weeks).
In 2022 and 2023, the threat of strike action forced pay rises of 7% and 5%.
However, the FBU leadership is determined to push the new Labour government to rebuild the fire and rescue service after more than a decade of austerity which hit real-terms pay and scrapped one in five firefighter jobs.
In his letter to employers, Wrack raised specific concerns about three areas. He argued that, as the minimum wage rises, firefighter apprentices and trainees must see their wages increase for the job to remain attractive. The letter also raised the need for further discussions on the role of firefighters, and for a proper system of pay progression.
Commenting on the letter, Matt Wrack said: “Firefighters put themselves at risk around the clock to keep people safe. They protect communities from fires, floods, storms and extreme weather events.
“Under the Tories, the fire service was subjected to massive cuts. We now look to Labour to rebuild our fire service.
“Restoring pay is a vital part of this, alongside national standards and investment in training and equipment.
“The new government must make the money available for a substantial above inflation pay increase to begin the work of making up for lost ground.”
In an interview with the Mirror, Wrack said: “I do not want to see strikes in the fire service, but we do have that right and we have to be prepared to do so if we can’t resolve things.”
