11 August 2010

FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack said today:

“Sacking all of London’s firefighters as a way of trying to impose new contracts is the action we would expect from Victorian mill owners – not from a modern public service. I am sure Londoners will be appalled at how their firefighters are being treated. We will fight the disgraceful attack every step of the way.

“We and the principal management of the London Fire Brigade do have a real disagreement about the way forward in difficult economic times, but until yesterday we were talking about it constructively, and I hoped to reach an agreement both sides could live with. The chances of that agreement have diminished dramatically this morning.

“I cannot believe the professional firefighters in charge at the London Fire Brigade would have wanted to do this damage to their service. It may be that this foolish action was forced on them by their political master, Brian Coleman, who seems to have a very personal dislike of firefighters and their trade union.”

***ENDS***

Further information:

Francis Beckett 020 8349 9194 / 07813 001372

FBU: http://www.fbu.org.uk/index.php