ESSEX fire chiefs are putting the people and communities of Essex at unnecessarily increased risk by notifying all wholetime firefighters they will not be paid and are not required to report for duty in the small hours of New Year’s Day, Essex FBU said yesterday.
Its statement said: ‘This is punishment meted out locally only for Essex firefighters taking part in a short period of national strike action over pensions. Nowhere else in the country has made this decision or is putting their communities at increased risk.
‘The FBU has called a national, six-hour period of lawful strike action from 6.30 pm on New Year’s Eve and ending at half past midnight.
‘No striking firefighter gets paid for the lawful period of strike. But when all other firefighters will be returning to work normally, fire chiefs in Essex have told their full time fire crews they are not required to return to duty until 9am on New Year’s Day, eight and a half hours after the national strike has ended.
‘At the same time fire chiefs have ordered the very many retained firefighters (on-call from home) who will continue to strike that they must return to duty and be paid immediately at half past midnight at the end of the lawful period of strike.’
Matt Wrack, FBU General Secretary said: ‘This irresponsible decision puts the safety of the public in Essex, and the stand-in crews themselves, at increased risk by more than doubling the length of time they must rely on the reduced skeleton cover.’
Wrack added: ‘It is believed the reduced stand-in cover will be paid up to four times more than the standard rates of pay for working the additional hours of effective lock-out.’
He added: ‘Our retained members believe their orders are deliberately malicious and will place them in very awkward situations at work with their non-striking colleagues whilst their wholetime brothers and sisters are effectively locked-out until 9am.’
