Tonight members of the Fire Brigades Union will be taking further strike action across England and Wales in defence of their pensions. Strikes will take place between: 7pm and midnight on Tuesday 24 December; 6.30pm on Tuesday 31 December and 12.30am on Wednesday 1 January and 6.30am and 8.30am on Friday 3 January. FBU members in Scotland will join in a Britain wide voluntary overtime ban next weekend. Show some festive solidarity with FBU pickets at your local fire station this evening!
http://www.fbu.org.uk/archives/9243
The Lincolnshire Fire Service has terminated a 20 year contract with private provider AssetCo after only six years - following a damning audit report of the near bankrupt company. Tribune reports that the decision could hit the outsourcing company’s contracts to supply and maintain London’s fire engines and provide auxiliary firefighters to be used as strikebreakers during disputes:
http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2012/04/fire-service-sale-an-unmitigated-disaster-fbu/
It was reported yesterday that from June London Fire Brigade will outsource its emergency call handling service to Capita in a 10 year contract awarded by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority – this unprecedented move is likely to be emulated other fire services and police forces squeezed by austerity measures:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4b37c0f6-71c6-11e1-8497-00144feab49a.html
