Cleaners are being trained and may respond to 999 calls if firefighters strike
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Certain members of the Fire Services back-office staff, such as workers and cleaners, are being trained to take on front-line services in preparation in case firefighter strikes take place, reports suggest. These workers may be called upon to respond to 999 emergency calls.
On Monday, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is set to close their ballot voting to see if firefighters and control room staff will be going on strike.
The ballot results will be announced at 4pm, but it has been reported that union leaders are confident they have reached the voting threshold required for strikes to take place.
Across Britain, fire services have been training back-office staff to help increase front-line services if strikes do take place, the Telegraph reported.
Mark Hardingham, the chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council, has said “anyone else who is prepared to step forward” is currently being trained.
This includes those working in human resources, finance, building safety work and cleaning staff.
Mr Hardingham told the Telegraph: “These are members of the fire and rescue service who might not be trained firefighters but can be trained up to provide basic level of cover.
“The fire service would still carry the liability, so you can’t just take anyone. They need a basic level of fitness and they need to pass a health assessment.
“There is a programme of training lasting on average two weeks, and not everyone will pass that. A lot of services are already doing this now.”
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Mr Hardingham said that fire services are also recruiting temporary staff from private companies to work on strike days.
He said: “Some services have contracts with third parties who can provide firefighters with a limited degree of training who can come in to provide cover.”
However, reports from the Independent have said that ministers are certain a firefighter strike will take place, and have begun preparation to deploy the British Army as well as private contractors for the upcoming strikes.
In December, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the Chief of the Defence Staff, expressed concern that soldiers were being used to fill in roles during the Christmas strikes when the army was being trained as ambulance drivers and Border Control workers.
At the time, he said: “We’re not spare capacity, we’re busy and we’re doing lots of things on behalf of the nation. We’ve got to focus on our primary role. It would be slightly perilous to rely on defence to be doing all of these things as the ultimate backstop.”
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The FBU announced it would be holding a vote for industrial action in November after its members rejected a five percent pay increase.
At the time, the union said inflation was at 11.1 percent and that firefighters and control staff needed a “substantial pay increase” to reflect the cost of living crisis.
Matt Wrack, the Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: “This is an historic ballot for firefighters and control staff. We are rarely driven to these lengths.
“Nobody wants to be in this position. After years of derisory pay increases and a pay offer that is well below inflation, firefighters’ and control staff’s living standards are in peril.”