Firefighters have expressed their ‘extreme concern’ over Surrey Fire and Rescue Service’s plans for Wednesday’s strike.
Firefighters will walk out for four hours across the country on 25 September over ‘unsafe, unfair and unworkable’ pensions proposals by central government.
However, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service have decided to prevent striking firefighters from accessing fire stations for the duration of Wednesday’s day shift, meaning the county will be unnecessarily without most of its fire and rescue workforce for a nine-hour period.
Jim Parrott, who represents the South East on the FBU’s Executive Council, said: “We are extremely concerned about the implications of this decision for our members and the people of Surrey.
“The decision is completely unnecessary and displays an aggressive disregard for common sense. We certainly don’t want this situation to erupt into a local dispute but there is a limit to how far the staff will be bullied and intimidated.
“The fire authority must change its stance and adhere to national guidance as other fire authorities have done.”
A national agreement is in place with government and employers for firefighters to be able to volunteer to return to work in the event of a major incident such as terrorism.
However, Chief Fire Officer Russell Pearson’s decision to prevent firefighters from accessing stations will mean that this agreement will be impossible to implement in Surrey, with firefighters threatened with charges of gross misconduct if they attend their fire station, they will be unable prepare in time in the event of a major incident.
Guidance from the National Fire and Rescue Service Employers issued recently advised fire and rescue services to allow firefighters to work and be paid for the rest of their shifts on Wednesday.
The FBU has reported that in neighbouring fire authorities chief fire officers are “actively engaging” with firefighters and union officials to look after the best interests of the fire and rescue service and the communities that that they serve.
