It seems
the government and the employers are now saying they will effectively guarantee
that no firefighter will be left without either a job or an unreduced pension.
When I was
the shadow fire minister, I repeatedly called on the fire
minister, Brandon Lewis, to get back to the negotiating table to avoid strike action. He ignored my requests prior to the
firefighter strike last month, but the resolve of the firefighters and the
strength of their case seems to have forced a long overdue rethink by Mr Lewis.
The FBU have
received a letter from the fire service employers outlining the basis on which
a settlement could be reached. Brandon Lewis also wrote to them offering a commitment
on pensions and a review of fitness training.
But Matt
Wrack, FBU general secretary said today: “FBU members want firm guarantees and not just
fine words. We have given government the
opportunity to progress this matter seriously.
“The Fire
Minister has said that the proposal from the employers removes the threat of
‘no job, no pension’. Firefighters will
have serious concerns about this claim and will want cast iron guarantees that
this will be addressed properly.
“The FBU
has temporally postponed the planned strike to enable these guarantees to be
firmed up. However, there are a number of important and unresolved elements of
our dispute and we need to be clear that we may have to resort to further
strike action.”
A key point
in the FBU’s dispute is that many firefighters will be unable to reach the new
imposed normal pension age of 60.
The government’s
own evidence published in the Williams report outlined that a significant
number of firefighters will be unable to maintain the required fitness standards
beyond 55 years of age. Consequently, firefighters would ultimately find
themselves without a job or access to an unreduced pension unless this is
addressed.
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