CamBridgeshire Fire Brigades Union (FBU) warned yesterday that firefighters are ready to strike following a pay row which will see their wages being slashed by up to £1,000 per year.
FBU members were told by e-mail that a pay increase of £1,000-a-year given to experienced firefighters would be halved immediately and then scrapped altogether by June next year.
After the 2002 to 2003 strikes, it was agreed that pay increases for firefighters with more than 15 years’ experience – known as the Long Service Increment (LSI) – would be phased out.
In its place would be a new payment scheme, known as the Continual Professional Development (CPD).
However, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority is now scrapping the LSI, even though the CPD has not been implemented.
Last week, the fire service National Joint Council negotiating body gave the go ahead for local authorities to decide whether or not to scrap the LSI even though its replacement wasn’t ready.
Cambridgeshire Fire Brigades Union (FBU) Brigade Secretary Paul Clarke said: ‘They did not even consult us over this, they have just steam-rollered in with a decision.
‘Firefighters in the county have made it clear they are prepared to defend their LSI, and the worst case scenerio is that we go on strike.’
He added: ‘In effect, they are forcing firefighters to take a pay cut before they decide what will be happening with the CPD.’
The FBU says it had no idea that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority was going to cut the payments until its members received the e-mail.
Clarke warned: ‘The employers decided that they would not pay any money until the replacement, so the firefighters goodwill has just run out.
‘CPD will replace it some time in the future, but we don’t know what form it will take and the negotiations are ongoing.
‘There’s no inkling as to how it will be shared out.’
• Angry firefighters across Norfolk began unofficial strike strike action on Wednesday in a bitter pay dispute, also over the scrapping of the Long Service Increment – responding to emergency calls only.
Norfolk Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members are refusing to carry out routine duties over the failure of Norfolk fire service to put the new CPD system in place.
Norfolk FBU Brigade Secretary Neil Day said: ‘Our members are losing money and they haven’t got the option of making that money up.
‘The agreement was that they could take long service increments away, phase it out and replace it with continual professional development.’
Day said the emergencies-only action will continue until chief fire officer Richard Elliott agreed to discuss the issue.
Day added: ‘Quite clearly it will stop if the chief fire officer puts a statement out saying that we will return to the status quo.’
