Press Release
Angry Ministry of Defence firefighters set to disrupt bases on 10 May in pensions' row
3 May 2012
Hundreds of firefighters employed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will strike on Thursday, May 10 - furious that government's imposed pension changes will make them poorer in retirement.
This will mean that there will only be skeleton staff, which would come from the military and local authority firefighters, at bases where flights take off to supply British forces in Afghanistan.
The nearly 700 firefighters, members of Unite - the country's largest trade union - will be joining their Unite colleagues in government departments and the NHS in nationwide union protests on 10 May at the government's pension plans to make public sector workers work longer, pay more and receive less when they retire.
Unite national officer for MoD/government departments, Mike McCartney said: “There will be strike action at about 35 bases across the UK. However, flights to and from Afghanistan won't be affected as there will be skeleton cover which would be provided by the military's own firefighters and those from local authorities.
“However, there will be disruption and gaps in normal services on 10 May. This government has pushed MoD firefighters to the absolute limit. They have had enough of being forced to do more for less, on top of a draconian diet of cuts and having their concerns ignored by their employers.”
Unite's 25,000 MoD/government department members recently overwhelmingly voted to reject the government's pension offer and are taking industrial action in a bid to get ministers back around the negotiating table for meaningful and genuine talks.
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