Leicestershire firefighters who are 'angry' over pay could be forced to strike

Leicestershire firefighters could be going on strike following a mandate for industrial action.

The strike ballot closed on Monday (January 30) with results strongly in favour of a strike.

The turnout for the ballot was 73 per cent, with 88 per cent of Fire Brigade Union (FBU) members voting ‘yes’.

The FBU has given the government and employers ten days (until Thursday February 9) to come forward with an improved pay offer which could be put to a member vote. If rejected, the situation would move to a nationwide strike – the first over pay since 2003.

Since 2010, firefighters have faced a 12 per cent drop in real terms earnings – around £4,000 a year while around one in five firefighter jobs have been cut. In Leicestershire, the number of firefighters has decreased from 757 to 579, over the same period.

FBU members rejected a below-inflation five per cent pay offer in November, before the union opened its formal strike ballot in early December.

Regional secretary for Leicestershire FBU, Adam Taylor, said the ballot result is indicative about how members are feeling across Leicestershire.

He told the Mail: “Almost 90 per cent of our members voting for strikes indicates just how angry our they are feeling.

“Importantly, we’re desperate to ensure strikes don’t go ahead. We’ve offered to meet with employers to discuss potential resolutions to this and hope they see how angry our members are.

“The offers received last year were on the back of a number of things and one of those was a largescale reduction of firefighters across the UK. We’ve had 12,00 fewer firefighters in the last 12 years and it’s had an impact on Leicestershire members who have faced closures fire engines removed from response.

“Response offers were made on back of the Covid pandemic where our members and specifically in Leicestershire, were not only responding to their day job of dealing with fires and other things but also dealing with a direct response to Covid – making facemasks, delivering prescriptions, driving ambulances and, in worse cases, moving bodies of the deceased.

“Our members are angry and we urge employers to come back with a suitable offer.”