Marlborough Fire Station will not be directly affected by the four-hour strike that members of the Fire Brigades Union are to make on Wednesday (September 25) in its battle to win improved pensions following thwarted debate and discussions.
The town’s firefighters – there are 19 of them – are all retained volunteer officers not affected by the industrial action likely throughout Wiltshire.
“If your home catches fire then you can be assured we will be there,” one of the Marlborough firefighters told Marlborough News Online.
The cause of the dispute is that from 2015, the government plans to make firefighters work until they are 60 to get their full pensions rather than 55, as well as making them pay more money into a pension scheme.
“We have spent two years engaging with the government on this but they’ve just decided to ignore what has been said and so it came to this and we had to fight back,” said Brent Thorley, the union’s Wiltshire Brigade secretary.
“We hope that the government will see this as a show of strength from us and get around the table to talk things through.
“The government’s plans offer a danger to the public’s safety and we’ll also see more firefighters being asked to leave without their pensions because they aren’t fit enough, which isn’t right.”
The union’s ballot for a strike may well lead to increasing industrial action. Meanwhile, the Wiltshire and Swindon Combined Fire Authority, has made contingency plans to cope with industrial action.
Wiltshire Councillor Graham Payne, the chairman of the Wiltshire and Swindon Combined Fire Authority, said: “The union has not made a decision on any date as of yet but
“Our chief fire officer, Simon Routh-Jones, will make sure we are prepared for any eventuality as the public’s safety is our main concern,” said Wiltshire Councillor Graham Payne, who chairs the authority.