TORY local government minister Penny Mordaunt came under renewed fire yesterday in the ongoing row over firefighters’ pensions as Welsh brigades were promised concessions she has refused across the border in England.

Welsh Labour public services minister Leighton Andrews has offered a compromise where firefighters who retire at 55 — rather than at 60, the age desired by ministers — would receive a pension reduced by 9 per cent.

This compares to a 22 per cent drop under plans for the English brigades, which are controlled from Westminster.

English firefighters will stage a 24-hour walkout next week after fire authorities appeared to backtrack on a commitment from Ms Mordaunt that workers who fail fitness tests will be redeployed or retired on unreduced pensions.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has yet to resolve other concerns over the Welsh proposals but welcomed the development as a “significant improvement.”

“This improved offer shows what is possible when both sides sit down and discuss options,” said the union’s general secretary Matt Wrack.

“It should send a clear message to DCLG and Penny Mordaunt that firefighters in England are getting a much worse deal in their pension under Westminster proposals that are unacceptable, unfair and unworkable.

“Instead of talking to us Penny Mordaunt and DCLG are still standing behind a worthless parliamentary guarantee that the FBU has exposed as a complete lie.”

Mr Andrews said he was “legally bound” to implement a retirement age of 60 under legislation passed by the Westminster Tory government two years ago.

But he said there were “good reasons for treating firefighters as a special case.

“It cannot be right to expect firefighters to work beyond the age when many of them will become unfit to do so, or to penalise them for the unavoidable effects of ageing,” he said.

“To do so would be unfair, both on firefighters and on the citizens and communities whose safety they protect.”

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokeswoman said: “We have been crystal clear that firefighters aged 55 or over who fail a fitness test through no fault of their own and cannot regain fitness with remedial help and are not eligible for an ill-health pension or where a fire authority cannot provide reasonable adjustments or a redeployment opportunity, should be awarded an unreduced pension.”

Three fire stations in north-east England will be saved after a vibrant campaign from trade unionists and the community.
A petition to rescue stations at Sunderland Central, Gosforth and Wallsend from government cuts was signed by 34,000.
conradlandin@peoples-press.com