Fire Brigades Union begin 24-hour firefighter strike
Members of the Fire Brigades Union in Shropshire will join colleagues across England and Wales in a 24hr strike from 9am today.
In Shropshire it’s predominantly wholetime fire stations, situated in Shrewsbury and Telford that will be impacted by the strike.
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.
The 24-hour strike — the longest yet in the three-year campaign — comes after the government confirmed it would implement a new pension scheme without further negotiations.
A further strike is set for 10am-5pm on Saturday 21 June.
In addition between the two strikes firefighters will not carry out any voluntary overtime — which is routinely needed by many fire and rescue services to maintain fire cover — or conduct training of strikebreakers between the beginning of the first strike and 9am on Sunday 22 June.
Under the government’s proposals, firefighters who are forced to retire before the age of 60 as a result of ageing will have half of their pension taken away.
The government’s own report, published in December 2013 by Dr Tony Williams, found that large numbers of firefighters would be unable to maintain operational fitness until 60.
The two strikes will be the thirteenth and fourteenth over pensions. The first was on Thursday 24 September 2013.
