Firefighters from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) take part in the Cuts Leave Scars rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, calling for an end to cuts imposed on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service over the last 10 years, October 26, 2023
FIREFIGHTERS may strike if Rachel Reeves fails to provide extra funding for the service, the Fire Brigades Union has warned.
General secretary Matt Wrack has written to the Chancellor warning that her Budget must “begin to make up for the decade and a half of constant cuts to services and wages that have left many firefighters and other workers struggling to make ends meet.”
He called for a “generous funding settlement which allows fire service employers to make a decent pay offer” to firefighters and to ensure that services are fully equipped to protect the public.
Since 2010, one in five firefighter jobs has disappeared alongside 30% funding cuts — all while climate breakdown brings record blazes and flooding. It’s time to fund our fire service properly, writes FBU general secretary STEVE WRIGHT
