Throughout this week, there is a national firefighters’ strike in England and Wales, for three hours out of every 24. For the other 21 hours, firefighters will work normally, everywhere in the country. Everywhere, that is, except Buckinghamshire – because chief fire officer Mark Jones is refusing to allow them to work.
Firefighters in Buckinghamshire will be locked out from fire stations for nine days, from 9am on Saturday 9 August to 9am on Sunday 17 August – even though the met office has issued severe weather warnings and flood warnings in Buckinghamshire.
The strike is over proposed government changes to their pension arrangements, which would see firefighters working until they are sixty before they could retire. The published evidence produced by the Department of Communities and Local Government and separate evidence commissioned by the Fire Brigades Union shows that few 60-year-olds are up to the physical demands of the job.
“Firefighters hate going on strike, and in cases of major incidents, striking firefighters return to work,” says Buckinghamshire FBU’s regional secretary James Wolfenden.
“In every other area of the country, the chief fire officer makes the best arrangements he or she can make to safeguard life and property. But in Buckinghamshire the chief fire officer has deliberately chosen to put residents in unnecessary danger, presumably in order to make a political point.
“Out of 46 fire authorities in England and Wales only Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority have taken the decision to lock out.
“This strike action totals 24 hours. The period for which wholetime firefighters will be locked out totals 168 hours or seven days. Buckinghamshire residents will have substantially reduced fire cover for an additional seven days.”
