Fire Brigades Union comment on the budget

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said:

A two year pay freeze for public sector workers, a massive VAT rise and a three year freeze in child benefits, accompanied by cuts in corporation tax, leave little doubt who is to pay for the crisis under Mr Osborne. It is modestly paid public sector workers like firefighters who are being made to pay for the failures of the banking system.

We have yet to see how 25% cuts in departmental budgets will be distributed, but the fire and rescue service is likely to be severely hit.  There has been no golden age of huge investment in our service. We have fewer firefighters than we did ten years ago.  The cuts we have already seen have been targeted precisely at the ‘front line.’  More cuts will mean even fewer firefighters. The brutal truth is that such cuts increase the risk to the public and to firefighters.

We have huge concerns that Hutton’s review of public sector pensions will pave the way for further attacks. Firefighters already pay 11% of their salary in pension contributions and have already seen a series of adverse changes to their scheme. Their pension scheme was designed to take account of the special type of work they do and the risks they face.

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Francis Beckett        020 8349 9194         07813 001372

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