Firefighters will consider all options to defend jobs and services, says The Fire Brigades Union

A union has said firefighters will consider “all options” to defend jobs and services in the face of cuts.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has warned the service would be “decimated” by cuts and said they would “robustly resist” them.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) expects to make £11m savings this year.

A letter from the FBU to Siobhian Brown MSP, community safety minister, warned “all options” were open.

FBU executive council member Colin Brown wrote in the letter that “the declining real terms budget the service has been allocated by the Scottish Government over the next four years” was to blame.

He said: “You must stop hiding behind the management of the SFRS and take your role seriously.”

The union said the Scottish Government allocation of £14.4m of additional funds to SFRS this year was not an investment in SFRS, but was allocated to allow SFRS to settle the long-running pay dispute and avert Scottish firefighters from taking strike action over pay.

The FBU claimed that in the past decade, 1,100 jobs had gone and said that SFRS plans to reduce firefighter numbers by an estimated 200 posts this year.

On Thursday, firefighters will protest in Glasgow about proposed job cuts.

Mr Brown wrote: “Thank you for your response of August 11, it is unfortunate you will be unable to attend our rally on the 24th.

“I am writing to you once again, to raise the issues of cuts to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, in your previous reply you again reiterated your position that these cuts are a matter for SFRS and that you have been assured that a full impact assessment and public consultation would take place.

“This does nothing to mitigate the fact that SFRS have unilaterally chosen to remove resources from communities and reduce firefighter numbers by an estimated 200 posts this year, without any prior, meaningful consultation.

“The SFRS have released a document called operational changes 2023-2024.

“In it they say they are required to make £11m of cuts this year and moving forward, our projections show that we will be required to make a further £11.3m in 2024-2025; £7.3m in 2025-2026 and £6.9m in 2026-2027.”

The document also states that “the large majority of our running costs as a service comes from our staff and we cannot realistically reduce costs without reducing workforce numbers.”

Mr Brown added: “This situation is not as you have previously claimed down to “operational decisions” by SFRS management, this crisis has been brought about as a direct consequence of the declining real terms budget the service has been allocated by the Scottish Government over the next four years.

“You are the government minister with direct responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service, you must stop hiding behind the management of the SFRS and take your role seriously.”

He added: “The FBU have been clear, we will not tolerate the decimation of the service we work in.

“We will continue to robustly resist these cuts and will ensure that if there is no improvement in the budgetary situation for SFRS, we will hold to account and expose the politicians who are responsible and those who sit back and passively accept the loss of jobs and increased risk to the lives of our members and the safety of the public we serve.

“We are advising you today that the FBU will consider ALL options available to us to protect jobs and services.

“We remain available to meet to discuss these issues at any time.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is a vital service which is why, despite difficult financial circumstances due to UK Government austerity, we are providing it with more than £368m this year, an increase of £14.4m on 2022/23.

“We are also maintaining front-line services, with a higher number of firefighters in Scotland than other parts of the UK and firefighters recently accepted an improved pay offer.”

Stuart Stevens, SFRS deputy chief officer, 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 require to save at least £36m across the next four 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.”