Firefighters went on strike over pensions as almost 80% voted in favour of industrial action in a ballot that ended earlier in September, although union officials had left the strike to the last possible moment to allow for the possibility of a negotiated settlement. Government figures have shown that thousands of firefighters could face the sack without access to a proper pension simply because they are getting older. A recent review found that over half of current firefighters between the ages of 50 and 54 are no longer able to meet fire and rescue service fitness standards for fighting fires. Beyond the age of 55, two thirds fail to meet the standards. And although the government has previously claimed that older firefighters could be moved to less physically demanding roles, research by the Fire Brigades Union found only a handful of ‘redeployment’ opportunities in fire and rescue services, meaning mass sackings would be inevitable.
English: http://www.fbu.org.uk/?cat=11
http://www.tuc.org.uk/industrial ...
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.