Firefighters in Scotland will vote over pension proposals from the Scottish Government and Fire Service employers, the Fire Brigades Union has announced.
The consultative ballot will run until Tuesday 8 October, when the union’s executive council will consider the outcome.
In a statement, the union’s executive council said: “FBU members in Scotland have the democratic right to consider and decide upon the response to the proposals made to them.
“We acknowledge the credible improvements in the Scottish Government’s revised proposals but also draw attention to the fact that they do not satisfactorily address our concerns about the future sustainability and affordability of firefighter pension schemes.
“Whatever the outcome of the consultation with FBU members in Scotland, the Executive Council remains fully committed to leading the campaign for appropriate occupational pension provisions fit for firefighters throughout the UK.”
The union executive council decided to hold the consultative vote after deciding the Scottish Government’s offer represented an improvement to the “unacceptable” proposals set out for firefighters in England and Wales.
In a letter to members, the executive highlighted:
- Provisions to protect firefighters whose fitness declines with age from losing both their job and their pension entitlement.
- Enhanced ‘transitional protection arrangements’ to help protect the existing rights of some – but not all – firefighters who have pension arrangements already in place.
- Commitments to back up the implementation of a modified pension scheme for Retained Duty System (RDS) firefighters with legislation and reduce the length of a consultation on it.
The executive also reported that the Scottish Government had clarified that an offer for firefighters to be able to retire at 55 would be retained in the Scottish scheme regardless of the final settlement in England.
The Scottish Government has argued that several points in the union’s trade dispute are not within their control as a devolved government, including increases in pension contributions, the size of lump sums available upon retirement, the scheme’s ‘cost ceiling’ and the ratio of contributions between employer and employee.
The union will hold local briefing meetings for members to discuss the Scottish government’s proposals while the ballot is open.
