Local government

The Fire Brigades Union in Avon have slammed politicians on their fire authority after they agreed to increase the pay of the chief fire officer and the “Service Management Board” by 10% despite recent austerity cuts which have seen 86 frontline firefighter posts cut in the last few years. The pay...

Emergency control staff will be in parliament on Wednesday to lobby their MPs over the continuing dispute in Essex about an imposed and untenable shift system. FBU control members in Essex have been on strike for the past week over staff being forced out of the workplace through the introduction of...

The strike by Essex emergency fire control staff, over an unworkable shift system change, has reached its seventh day. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service have imposed a radically different shift system on the professional control operators who are now forced to work 12 hour long shifts resulting...

999 Fire Control operators in Essex have completed the first of the eight days of strike action as senior managers continue to ignore cost-neutral alternatives that could avert the industrial action. Taking place from 10 – 18 March the strike has been called over imposed shift changes which have...

At the Local Government Association conference, taking place in Gateshead, Westminster fire minister Penny Mordaunt once again refused to answer questions from firefighters over the sham ‘guarantee’ on pensions. Firefighters had attended the conference in the hope of having their questions answered...

Emergency 999 control operators have escalated strike action, to commence this week, up to eight days as Essex fire chiefs continue to ignore cost-neutral alternatives that could avert the industrial action. Not only will this be the longest strike to date but all the strikers are likely to be women...

Emergency 999 control operators in Essex will strike for three consecutive days over a radical change in shift patterns that have resulted in a number of staff being forced to quit their jobs, cut their hours, and many more being forced to consider doing the same. Control operators will walk out for...

Essex firefighters and 999 control operators have been locked out by management extending strike action by 21 hours. Despite numerous attempts from the FBU in Essex to negotiate with the service to avert the strike, including putting forward alternative plans that would meet all the savings the...