UK firefighters protest over closures

Hundreds of British firefighters have protested across London Bridge over planned stations closures and job cuts.

British firefighters marched across London Bridge and through the streets of Bankside as members of London’s Fire Authority will vote later on plans to close 10 stations, cut 14 fire engines and 552 jobs in London to make savings of £28.8 million over the next two years.

This comes as a recent study conducted for the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) revealed 70 percent of Londoners believe the cuts would put the public safety at risk.

Å“These cuts are dangerous and wrong. They would lead to increased response times for millions of Londoners, which in turn would cost lives,” said FBU regional secretary Paul Embery.

Å“There has been massive public opposition to the cuts. Londoners cherish their fire service, and they don’t want to see it decimated,” he added.

The FBU union will also ballot its members on whether to strike over the governmentâ„¢s pension scheme after almost two years of negotiations have left them with no choice.

Under the governmentâ„¢s new proposals, significant reduction will be imposed on firefighter pension benefits with those retired or forced out of work at the age of 55 losing about 50 percent of their pensions.

According to the FBU, the ballot closes on August 29th.

MOS/HE