Hundreds of firefighters from across Scotland descended on Holyrood today to demand fair pay and a sustainable future. About 500 gathered at the Scottish Parliament to lobby political leaders as part of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) campaign for fair pay, an end to service cuts and higher staffing levels.
Why is the Protest?
FBU members look set to reject a below-inflation 5% pay offer. Speaking after the event, FBU Scottish secretary John McKenzie said, ” This was a massive show of strength from our members.” About 500 protestors attended the event at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh as they highlighted that the pay rise of five per cent offered was a “spit in the face”.
Reason for the Protest?
Senior firefighters warned the government that SNP cuts would mean they may take longer to get too serious incidents due to losing members of staff. They said that if their funding does not increase alongside inflation, which is the current plans outlined in the government’s spending review. Then they would lose about 780 firefighter posts.
The Demonstration
“What the Scottish Government are indicating is that, come the budget in December, they are minded towards freezing the budget of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for a further four years. That would mean the jobs of hundreds more firefighters throughout Scotland and that is simply unacceptable”. The demonstration would have hundreds of workers demanding their rightful pay and rights of workers.
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