As Theresa May suggests she intends to bring an end to austerity, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is calling for immediate action including a specific pledge to put an end to the misery of the seven year pay freeze that has impacted on firefighters and other public services workers.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU, said: “It is simply not good enough to suggest that austerity is ending - we want to know when and how. Good quality public services rely on the people who deliver them. Yet public servants, including firefighters, have been utterly demoralised by their treatment by this government and its predecessor.
“Investing in public services means immediately ending the pay freeze which has left firefighters at least £2,000 a year worse off in real terms since 2010. We have firefighters who are unable to pay their mortgages or keep up with the bills. This hardship has to end.
“Theresa May’s disastrous election result has shown that the public won’t put up with their emergency and health services being drained of lifeblood by chronic, prolonged under-funding any longer. People need to see investment in their critical, life-saving services, and part of this investment has to be ensuring that these key, public-serving personnel are paid properly for the professional work they do. Even some Tory MPs are saying enough is enough. The pay freeze needs to end now.”
