ON the stroke of 10am, Bexley’s Red Watches walked out of their fire stations and onto the picket lines.
Saturday (October 23) saw the first of the Fire Brigades Union strikes in protest at plans to change firefighters’ shift patterns Firefighters have been angered by the London Fire Brigade’s decision to terminate their contracts and re-employ them on the new shift times.
Bexley firefighters concentrated their picketing at the Sidcup station where one fire engine was removed for use by private company AssetCo to use during the strike.
During Saturday’s eight-hour strike there was only one call to an incident in the borough.
According the firefighters, the Sidcup engine was parked in Eltham High Street waiting to answer any calls, but was not used.
They claim AssetCo’s attempts to take their place ended in “chaos” with four of the 27 commandeered engines crashing.
Another eight-hour strike is planned for Monday (November 1) to be followed by a 47-hour strike from 10am on November 5 to 9am on November 7.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel