Pension Rights

Gay and Lesbian members within the Fire Service are appalled at the continued discrimination of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transsexual people who are members of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme. We have Authority/Fire Service Managers making statements within the public arena about how well off a firefighter's family will be in the event of the death of any of our members. This continues to be a distortion of the facts and despite the tremendous loss suffered by our dependents, their loss will be compounded by the financial hardship they will suffer because our Pension Scheme refuses to recognise our partners. This cannot be allowed to continue and this Conference calls on the Executive Council to take all actions necessary to urgently force changes to our Pension Scheme, so that despite being unmarried, our partners/dependents are fully recognised within the Firefighters' Pension Scheme on an equal basis with that enjoyed by married members of the Scheme.