Firefighters demonstrate outside Scottish Parliament over pay and cuts

Hundreds of firefighters have demonstrated outside the Scottish Parliament to voice their anger over service cuts and their latest pay offer.

Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members travelled to Edinburgh from across Scotland to say “enough is enough” and demand investment in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The demonstration, said to be the biggest in many years, comes ahead of the opening of a consultative ballot on the latest 5% pay offer, which the union has urged its members to reject.

The ballot runs from October 31 to November 14 and a further ballot for strike action could follow if the pay offer is rejected.

Firefighters are also calling for an end to service cuts and for increased staff levels.

FBU regional secretary John McKenzie said: “Our members are here today because the Scottish Government have announced a four, five year budget freeze for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the implications of that for our members are really severe, and for the public.

“Ultimately what that means for us, projected, would be anywhere between 500 and 700 firefighters’ job cuts in the next four years.”

Commenting on the “huge turn-out” at the demonstration, he said: “That directly shows the Scottish Government how angry and concerned our members are.

“Our members have seen the service they provide to the public eroded year on year since the introduction of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and that’s specifically to do with budget cuts and reduced numbers of firefighters .

“Our members are here today to say enough is enough, that needs to be resolved, we need investment in the Scottish Fire and Rescue service and our members need to be paid appropriately for their work.”

Firefighters at the rally waved flags and held placards with messages including “Don’t leave our firefighters skint” and “No tricks, no treats, just investment” .

A rally was held outside the Scottish Parliament, with speakers including FBU general secretary Matt Wrack, Labour MSP Pauline McNeill and representatives from the RMT rail union and STUC.

Colin Brown, of the FBU executive council, described the 5% pay offer as a “spit in the face” and urged members to “stand up and say no”.

Mr Wrack told members at the rally: “We were told, and I was in that building discussing the single service, we were told that the single service would be a way of avoiding the sort of cuts we’ve seen in the fire and rescue service elsewhere in the UK and sadly that has not proved to be the case.

“We’ve still seen job losses, we’ve seen the losses of our control rooms and we face the further threat of job losses and we are here to say that is simply not good enough and that’s the message that needs to go to MSPs today.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The people of Scotland are well-served by the officers and staff of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), who play a vital role in keeping our communities safe.

“Firefighter pay is negotiated through UK-wide collective bargaining arrangements, which includes SFRS as the employer. The Scottish Government is not part of these arrangements.

“The Scottish Government has continued the commitment to support SFRS service delivery and modernisation with a further uplift of £9.5 million for 2022-23, bringing the budget to £352.7 million.”