Firefighters in England and Wales will walk out on strike again between 6.30am and 08.30am on Friday 3 January in their long-running dispute with the government over pensions.
Fire Brigades Union General Secretary, Matt Wrack, said: “We are starting this year as we ended the last – in a battle to defend our pension rights and try to make the government wake up to the evidence we have presented.
“Over the past week, while government ministers have been enjoying their Christmas break, our members have been on the front line dealing with storms, floods and other emergencies every day.
“It’s fine to praise firefighters for the work they do – but what firefighters really want to hear is that genuine dialogue and negotiation has begun.
“That would be a New Year’s message worth listening to. Until that happens our campaign will continue.”
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.
