Edinburgh firefighters ‘angry’ at cuts as union announce consultation on strike action

Fire cuts are a “threat to the lives, homes and livelihoods of everyone in Scotland”, says the union.

A fire chief in Edinburgh has said firefighters are ‘angry and have had enough’ of cuts to the service, as the Union has warned of nationwide strike action.

The Fire Brigades Union has today announced it will consult firefighters across Scotland on strike action in opposition to a devastating package of cuts imposed by the Scottish government.

It marks the first step towards firefighters taking strike action and a formal strike ballot could follow. It’s expected this could take place in December, following the Scottish draft budget.

Firefighters attend Jenners blaze in January, 2023 Photo: Andrew O'brien

John McKenzie, Fire Brigades Union regional secretary who is based at McDonald Road fire station, said workers are ‘not going to tolerate’ cuts to the service, which means fewer firefighters on the job and a reduction in vital equipment.

He told the Evening News: “What we see is that we are providing a poorer quality of service year on year, as a direct result of a lack of resources. We’ve had enough of the service being eroded. Firefighters are angry.”

"In Edinburgh we used to have four height appliances. Now we have two, one at McDonald Road and Tollcross. That’s a significant reduction and for the service to claim that it has no or minimal impact is a gross exaggeration. The equipment gives us access to a form of rescue that no other resource can. Our response times have increased by one minute since 2015. If people are trapped in a fire, that’s a threat to life and that minute can make all the difference in a life or death situation. It all has a severe impact.”

A protest will be held at Holyrood on 26 October, where hundreds of firefighters are expected to rally against nationwide cuts. Scotland has lost 1200 frontline firefighters since 2012.

The move to ballot on strike comes following a programme of £11 million worth of cuts announced in May which is required in order for the Service to deliver a balanced budget for the 2023/24 financial year. These cuts included the ‘mothballing’ of ten wholetime fire appliances, and the reduction of high reach appliances from 25 to 14, while 150 retained fire engines are regularly unavailable due to significant recruitment and retention issues.

On top of that the Scottish Fire and Rescue service has announced that its own projections mean it will need to save a minimum of a further £14 million next year, which would result in the loss of a further 339 firefighters and 18 fire engines, with more to come.

The union warns the cuts will ‘decimate’ the service and has commissioned a major report into both the legacy and future of the SFRS.

Mr McKenzie added: “The cuts we are seeing imposed by the Scottish government are a threat to the lives, homes and livelihoods not just of firefighters but of everyone in Scotland. They will rob Scotland of the firefighters and equipment we need to keep our communities safe."

“Speaking to firefighters across Scotland, it is clear to us that there is a determined mood among members. After ten years of cuts, our service cannot take any more."

Stuart Stevens, Deputy Chief Officer of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Any permanent changes now or in the future will only be made following full engagement and consultation with all our stakeholders, including the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

“Like all public services, we are operating in a challenging financial period and our modelling indicates that we will need to save between £37 and £48 million over the next three years.

“In addressing our financial challenges, we also must modernise as a service to ensure we are best placed to meet the changing risk and demand we face across Scotland.

“We will continue to work in partnership with the FBU and other representative bodies around any impact of potential savings that the Service may have to consider.”