Firefighters lobby parliament


FBU says “They slash, You burn”

Support the firefighters battling to save the service

Firefighters from across the country are lobbying parliament today, 7th November, at 11.30am, over horrendous proposed cuts to the fire service.

The union has also taken out adverts in national papers with the slogan “They slash, You burn”.

Austerity cuts already mean that around 1,500 frontline firefighters have been lost since 2010, and the government plans to cut another 6,000 by 2015.

In London, 17 fire stations could close, with further cuts to the number of engines at other stations.

Firefighters will be steeling themselves. London firefighters waged a massive battle in 2010 against a boss determined to force through what he wanted, backed up by the government, Tory London mayor and right-wing media, using strikebreaking methods reminiscent of the miners’ strike.

Fire bosses then were prepared to sack the entire workforce to impose shift changes which would have led to the gradual reduction of fire cover.

Brutal methods were used, including a scab company, and there were scenes in which firefighters were driven at and injured by scab engines.