Fire-fighters' union in pension protest

LEADERS of the 55,000-strong Fire Brigades' Union are threatening nationwide industrial action in protest at proposals which could mean that one fire-fighter's widow would receive pounds 19,000 a year less than the wife of a colleague killed in the same incident.

On the eve of the Union's Annual Conference, Ken Cameron, FBU General Secretary, warned that his members would vote for action unless the Home Office scrap plans for a root-and-branch reform of the pension system which would mean lower benefits for new recruits and their dependants.

At the Union's conference in Bridlington this week, Mr Cameron is expected to win support for a recalled delegates' meeting which would set in train a national strike ballot unless ministers shift their ground on pension benefits.

The fundamental problem is that pensions are paid out of current income rather than from an investment fund and the financial burden is rocketing. The London fire authority is estimated to spend 26 per cent of its budget on benefits.

After the last national strikes in the 1970s, more fire-fighters were taken on and many of them are now reaching retirement age. Under Home Office proposals fire-fighters would have to work for 35 years before retiring on a full pension rather than the present 30 years. An official consultation document suggests longer qualifying periods for a whole range of benefits including those paid to the spouses of men and women killed on duty.

Fire authorities are also faced with a massive bill for employees who are retiring early through ill health or injury. Some 7 out of 10 leave the service under such circumstances and the government is proposing new medical tests to reduce the numbers.

Management sources argue that if the current system is allowed to continue, the only alternative would be to increase redundancies and therefore introduce lower fire cover.