By Vivienne Russell | 4 November 2013
The Fire Brigades Union has called on the government to reopen pension talks after it staged a two-hour strike this morning – its third walkout during the ongoing dispute.
One of the union’s key concerns is that ageing firefighters could be laid off without being able to access their pension. While the government has promised that no firefighter would be put in this position, the FBU is demanding it drafts legal regulations to underpin the commitment.
Ministers instead favour developing a set of principles with the intention that they become national guidance to be adopted by individual fire and rescue authorities.
However, FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said that placing this pledge on a legal basis would be a ‘simple and achievable’ alteration.
‘If the government is serious about firefighters being protected from being sacked without access to their pensions as it claims to be, why won’t it draft the pension regulations accordingly?
‘We have even made it easy for them by providing the necessary wording following legal advice.’
He added that discussions would move forward ‘quite easily with this simple step’.
In a letter sent to Wrack last week, fire minister Brandon Lewis said: ‘I believe that the draft principles you have already seen, if followed, will ensure that no firefighter is put in a position where they have no job or no pension.’
In a separate letter sent to the chairs of England’s fire and rescue authorities on November 1, Lewis stated: ‘There is a considerable amount of experience in dealing with older workers in fire and rescue authorities, as over 500 operational firefighters are already 55 and over, and we are not aware of any capability issues putting them at risk of dismissal.
‘It is also a fact the firefighters would not have to retire at 55 without a job or a pension. All firefighters will have the right to access an actuarially reduced pension at 55. All pension earned before transfer to the 2015 scheme will be fully protected.’
Industrial action has affected fire brigades in England and Wales, but not Scotland.
