Fire fighters have voted to strike against the government’s pension scheme proposals that could lead to thousands facing the sack simply for getting older, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has said.
Union members – which included those working in Hampshire – voted in favour of national strike action with 18,277 votes in ballot results – a 78 per cent majority.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service could be affected if their is a national FBU strike
FBU members decided to ballot after almost two years of negotiations when government in Westminster set a July 12 deadline for their proposals to be accepted — or face imposition of the changes.
Matt Wrack FBU general secretary said: “We cannot expect large numbers of fire fighters in their late-50s to fight fires and rescue families without creating danger to the public and fire fighters.
“We have repeatedly raised safety concerns and provided strong evidence to back it up but the government just isn’t listening.
“This result is a clear indication of the anger felt by fire fighters. It’s still not too late for common sense to prevail if the government are willing to return to the negotiating table. None of us want a strike, but we cannot compromise on public and fire fighter safety.”
Dave Curry, Deputy Chief Officer for Hampshire Fire and Rescue, said: “While we acknowledge the results of the ballot and respect the rights of our fire fighters to take lawful industrial action, we remain hopeful that negotiations will continue and this stage will not be reached.
“However, I would like to reassure the public we have robust business continuity plans in place to minimise the impact on the safety of our communities should strike action be announced.”
The details and dates of any strike action have yet to be confirmed by the FBU but the union now has 28 days to act on the ballot result.
Cllr Royston Smith, Chairman of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority, said: “I recognise the result of the FBU’s ballot of its members but hope that this situation can still be resolved through negotiation rather than industrial action.”