Firefighters set to go on strike this evening in Shropshire
Members of the Fire Brigades Union will walk out on strike between 7pm and midnight tonight in their long running dispute with the government over pensions.
In Shropshire it’s predominantly wholetime fire stations, situated in Shrewsbury and Telford that will be impacted by the planned strikes. Part time, or On-call, staffed fire stations, which are largely based in the more rural areas of Shropshire, are less likely to be affected.
Fire Brigades Union officials will this afternoon meet Fire Minister, Brandon Lewis, after he agreed to discuss the dispute for the first time since 18 October.
FBU General Secretary, Matt Wrack, said: “Firefighters on duty over the festive period don’t have much to celebrate this year and tonight’s strikes will remind the government of the service we provide 24 hour a day, 365 days a year, every year of our careers.
“Nobody wants these strikes but firefighters remain extremely angry over the prospect of being priced out of their pensions and facing the sack owing to the government’s ludicrous pretence that men and women of 60 can meet the same fitness standards as 20 year olds.
“The government at Westminster has acknowledged our concerns but not done anything to seriously address them, so we welcome the chance to meet the government and hope this afternoon’s meeting provides a genuine dialogue.”
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.
At the same time evidence suggests that at least two thirds of the current workforce will 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.
As a result of a meeting between the Fire Minister and FBU officials on 18 October, firefighters suspended the next day's strike, although industrial action resumed after the minister’s “promising words failed to turn into concrete assurances.”
Further strikes are scheduled between 6.30pm on Tuesday 31 December and 12.30am on Wednesday 1 January and 6.30am and 8.30am on Friday 3 January.
