Fury at plans to sack Greater Manchester's entire firefighter workforce

Only those firefighters who agree to new imposed conditions of service will get their jobs back

Greater Manchester firefighters are furious as fire and rescue service managers announce plans to sack every front-line firefighter in the area, totalling 1,250. Only those who agree to new imposed conditions of service will get their jobs back.

Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (GMFRS) managers are planning to sack all of its firefighters using Section 188 of the Trade Union Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, then re-engage those who agree to a new 12-hour shift system. The whole process has begun with limited discussion and no agreement from Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members – an estimated 95% of all firefighters in Greater Manchester are members of the FBU.

The proposed new arrangements mean that one in five firefighter posts will be slashed, 250 posts in total, with the remainder having "worse conditions" imposed on them. The FBU says firefighters would hardly see their families under the new 12-hour shift arrangements.

Greater Manchester brigade secretary Gary Keary said: “We are staggered that GMFRS would jeopardise relations with its workforce in this aggressive way. To start the process for dismissing firefighters to then simply re-engage them on an un-negotiated contract is really appalling, and a serious breach of the agreed mechanisms for industrial relations in the UK fire and rescue service.

"We at the FBU will do everything we can to resolve what could turn into a bitter and damaging dispute using agreed procedures. Since the notice of the sacking proposals was issued, we have been contacted by lots of angry FBU members. We will continue to consult with them regarding the best way forward. This is the third change to shift systems in Greater Manchester since 2006 – surely firefighters are entitled to some sort of stability in their working lives.”

Figures released by GMFRS show an increase of 140% in all rescues over the last 12 months, alongside an extremely worrying threefold increase in fire deaths. Firefighters in the region say they are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of repeated cuts on public safety.