Firefighters to strike this evening in Shropshire
Members of the Fire Brigades Union will walk out on strike between 6.30pm this evening and 12.30am tomorrow 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. Those working in control centres will continue to work.
Fire Brigades Union General Secretary, Matt Wrack, said: “Christmas is just an ordinary working time for firefighters, and our members have been on the front line dealing with storms, floods and other emergencies every day.
“None of us wanted these strikes, but firefighters on duty over the festive period don’t have much to celebrate this year as they are being priced out of their pensions and face the sack because the government’s can’t accept that 60 year old men and women can’t meet the same fitness standards as 20 year olds.
“We need to see genuine dialogue and real negotiations to resolve this dispute, so perhaps the prime minister would like to come along to visit firefighters on New Year’s Eve and hear directly why they are so angry?”
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.
Evidence also suggests that at least two thirds of the current workforce could 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.
A further strike across England and Wales is scheduled 6.30am and 8.30am on Friday 3 January.
