Firefighters in England and Wales will walk out on strike between 6.30pm on New Year’s Eve and 12.30am on New Year’s Day in their long-running dispute with the government over pensions.
Fire Brigades Union General Secretary, Matt Wrack, said: “Christmas is just an ordinary working time for firefighters, and our members have been on the front line dealing with storms, floods and other emergencies every day.
“None of us wanted these strikes, but firefighters on duty over the festive period don’t have much to celebrate this year as they are being priced out of their pensions and face the sack because the government’s can’t accept that 60 year old men and women can’t meet the same fitness standards as 20 year olds.
“We need to see genuine dialogue and real negotiations to resolve this dispute, so perhaps the prime minister would like to come along to visit firefighters on New Year’s Eve and hear directly why they are so angry?”
The union says most firefighters who take home approximately £1,650 a month already pay £320 or more a month into their pensions, and from April 2014 this would rise for the third year in a row to over £340 a month (£4,000 a year), with many facing a fourth consecutive rise of 2.2% in 2015.
Evidence also suggests that at least two thirds of the current workforce could face either dismissal from the fire service or a reduction in their pensions of almost half because they are unable to maintain the fitness standards required by the fire service beyond the age of 55.
Storms
The union says that recent floods and storms have once again highlighted the valuable and wide-ranging job modern firefighters do.
Firefighters in Kent and Surrey returned to work during the Christmas strike following discussions and agreement with union officials.
Under the terms of an agreement reached before the first strike in September between the FBU, central government and fire services across England and Wales, in the event of a major emergency incident which meets strict criteria and might lead to large numbers of people being put at serious risk, striking firefighters can be recalled to duty and return to work on a voluntary basis.
Matt Wrack said: “The return of Kent and Surrey firefighters to work on Christmas Eve makes a mockery of claims made by a tiny minority of commentators that striking firefighters are ‘irresponsible’.
“Firefighters do not want to place the public at risk, and support on the picket lines suggests that the public understands that we cannot stand by and let this pension theft continue.
“Its time the government came back with a realistic offer instead of the unworkable proposals they continue to peddle.”
Essex not signed up to recall agreement
Such agreements are in place in all parts of England and Wales apart from Essex, where the Chief Fire Officer has stated that he does not want any such agreement and so does not want striking firefighters to return to work even in the event of a major emergency threatening major loss of life.
Matt Wrack said, “It seems bizarre that the Essex Chief Fire Officer is the only one to snub such an agreement especially as the government has placed such importance on them being in place for public safety.”
The union has also warned that firefighters have the fundamental lawful right to strike and that the mechanism should not be abused.
A further strike across England and Wales is scheduled 6.30am and 8.30am on Friday 3 January.
