Firefighters in England to stage 24-hour strike over pension row

Firefighters in England will hold a 24-hour strike on 25 February as part of a long running pension dispute with the government.

The Fire Brigade Union (FBU) confirmed they will hold their 66<sup>th strike as part of the ongoing row over their pensions and retirement age, which first broke out two years ago.

The FBU said the latest dispute is over Westminster fire minister Penny Mordaunt "misleading" their members over an agreement that firefighters aged 55 who failed a fitness test through no fault of their own would still receive a full pension, or be given a reduced redeployed role.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: "It is clear that when Penny Mordaunt gave the guarantee in Parliament she would have been aware that no fire authority ever planned to implement the 'guarantee'.

"In order to win the vote to pass the flawed firefighters pension regulations Penny Mordaunt misled firefighters and Parliament.

"The minister is still writing to firefighters telling them they have the guarantee when she clearly knows that they do not.

"Firefighters are unbelievably angry with the disgraceful actions of this government.

"Since the debate where the guarantee was given, the FBU has written to Penny Mordaunt asking for an explanation and meeting to clear this up once and for all. The fire minister has simply ignored these requests and refused to meet the FBU in order to resolve this dispute.

"Firefighters still face the choice of either being sacked or receiving a severely reduced pension if they fail fitness tests as a result of naturally declining fitness through age. Exactly the opposite of what the minister told Parliament."

Only firefighters in England will be involved in the 24-hour walkout.