Firefighters have lodged a formal trade dispute with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority over plans to cut a quarter of control operators in the region.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has given the fire authority until 6 January 2016 to withdraw the proposed job cuts, as a matter of public safety, before a ballot for industrial action is taken.
Neil Carbutt, secretary of the FBU in South Yorkshire, said: “Control operators play a vital role in our emergency response by making sure firefighters get to emergencies with the correct equipment and information. Slashing the number of operators will drastically impact the response of the whole service.
“Firefighters and control staff have done their best to adapt to fire service austerity over the past few years, but enough is enough. If these proposals go through the public will receive a much worse service.
“We have been left no option but to register a trade dispute, as fire and rescue service managers have shown a callous disregard for public and firefighter safety by backing proposals that would put people living in South Yorkshire at greater risk.”
The FBU has asked South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority for assurances on a number of other issues including changes to the way staffing schedules and leave are assigned and a failure of the service to comply with nationally agreed industrial relations protocol.
