The fourth and possibly final (for now) strike in the dispute over firefighter pension age has passed relatively quietly.
Firefighters in England and Wales walked out between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. yesterday — Wednesday, November 13.
In Wales, only five callouts were made to standby services, including one to supervise an emergency landing, a lorry fire, and two vehicle crashes. Meanwhile, in London, six incidents were attended in the four-hour strike made up of two vehicle collisions, two fires, and two false alarms.
Overall, as far as IFSEC Global could tell at time of writing, no major incidents occurred during the final round of strike action, and fire authority bosses thanked members of the public for showing additional due care during the action.
Firefighters are in dispute with the Government over requirements to work until they are 60. They dispute the claim that most firefighters can maintain operational fitness levels until they are 60, and they also claim that the much-vaunted GB pound 19,000-a-year (US$25,467-a-year) pension would only apply to firefighters who have worked from the age of 20 to the age of 60 in the service.
In a letter to members of the union, Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU, said:
It is important to recognise that we are committed to reaching a negotiated settlement and have presented large amounts of evidence that support our case. Unfortunately, to-date we have not been presented with any proposal that addresses the various concerns we have raised.
Firefighters in Scotland have not been taking part in the strike actions — which also took place on September 25, and November 1 and 4 — as they have been considering the proposals from the Scottish Assembly on fitness requirements. In a statement ahead of yesterday’s strike, fire minister Brandon Lewis said:
The offer on the table has significant advantages over the Scottish fitness principles that the FBU has already accepted. These proposals provide a firm basis for resolving this dispute. The FBU should call off [yesterday’s] industrial action to continue discussions.
Firefighters will still get one of the most generous public pension schemes. Less than a quarter of firefighters will see any change in their retirement age in 2015 and more firefighters pensions are protected than in any other large public service workforce.
He also said that the strike action “damages the good reputation of firefighters with the public.”
The FBU are due to ballot over continued action short of full-scale strikes, a ballot which will hopefully see the current round of walkouts brought to a close. In the meantime, the bitter dispute between Government and the FBU is likely to continue.
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