Gloucestershire’s chief fire officer Mark Preece has been told to abandon plans to change firefighter shifts by the county council’s fire and rescue scrutiny committee.
This morning, firefighters rallied outside a meeting of the committee (who are appointed to hold Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and the chief fire officer to account) in opposition to the imposition of “unsafe and punishing” working hours.
The Fire Brigades Union has warned that changing day shifts from 8am to 7pm instead of 9am to 6pm for wholetime (full time) firefighters risks forcing many firefighters out of the service.
The council’s fire and rescue scrutiny committee has published a report into the proposed changes, recommending that the council cabinet’s decision to change shift patterns should be abandoned. [2]
Members of the fire scrutiny committee raised concerns around the plans impacting morale in the service, a lack of childcare provision, the detrimental effect on firefighters’ family lives, the significant impact on women in the workforce, and the toll the changes would take on firefighters’ physical and mental health.
Kate Yhnell, FBU brigade organiser for Gloucestershire said:
Firefighters have rallied outside a council meeting today to call for damaging changes to shift patterns to be scrapped without delay.
Firefighters travelled from across Gloucestershire and beyond to make it clear that we will not accept the imposition of unsafe and punishing changes to shifts. There is no benefit to increasing the length of firefighters’ day shifts, and it will take a huge toll on women and those with caring responsibilities in the service.
The fire and rescue scrutiny committee has recommended that changes to shifts are abandoned entirely, and the FBU will continue to fight until the council and chief fire officer start listening and drop the plans.”
