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UNION leaders accused a government minister yesterday of “misleading” firefighters over their pensions, which has caused fresh anger in their long-running dispute.
FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said Fire Minister Penny Mordaunt had given a “clear guarantee” during a Commons debate in December that if a firefighter fails a fitness test they will be offered an alternative job or an unreduced pension.
But when the union wrote to fire authorities asking for guarantees that no firefighter would be sacked or have their pension cut if they failed a fitness test at the age of 55, none would provide them.
The union is now calling on MPs to challenge the minister in Parliament.
“Firefighters have been utterly cheated,” said Mr Wrack. “Even now, the minister could announce that she will change the law to deliver her guarantees.
“The Scottish government has already done it. Unless she acts, the long-running dispute will be fuelled, with more bitterness than before, thanks to the government’s phoney guarantee.”
