Christmas and New Year strike planned by firefighters
Firefighters will strike on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and launch a ban on overtime as their bitter dispute with the Government over pensions escalates.
Members of the Fire Brigades Union in England and Wales will walk out for five hours from 7pm on December 24, for six hours from 6.30pm on December 31 and for two hours from 6.30am on January 3.
FBU members in Scotland will also join the industrial action for the first time since the row flared, by joining a ban on overtime.
Between 7pm on December 27 and 7pm on December 29, all firefighters in the union across England, Wales and Scotland will refuse to work voluntary overtime.
It will be the first time firefighters in the three nations will be taking industrial action in the bitter row over retirement age and pensions.
FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack said: "Firefighters provide a first-class standard of service 24-hours a day, 365 days a year, and these strikes will remind Government just how reliant they are on our members' professionalism, commitment and flexibility.
"However, there should be no need for industrial action. By simply conceding common sense and allowing firefighters a fair deal, the Government could end this industrial action today."
The union has been arguing that firefighters in their late 50s face the prospect of being sacked or seeing their pension reduced by almost half because of changes in the retirement age.
The FBU said firefighters' pension schemes are among the most expensive for workers anywhere in the public or private sector, but among the cheapest proportionally for the Government.
Fire Minister Brandon Lewis said: "The decito interrupt the Christmas holiday season is completely cynical.
"I met the FBU on December 4 to continue discussions but their actions today show that they are not serious about resolving this dispute.
"The deal on the table gives firefighters one of the most generous pension schemes in all the public sector. A firefighter who earns £29,000, and retires after a full career aged 60, will get a £19,000 a year pension, rising to £26,000 with the state pension. An equivalent private pension pot would be worth over half a million pounds and require fire-fighters to contribute twice as much.
"I would like to reassure the public that there are robust contingency arrangements in place."
