FIREFIGHTERS secured a “major victory” today against the government’s plans to change their pensions.  

The supreme court has refused permission for the government to appeal the ruling.

The court of appeal ruling upheld a claim in December by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) that thousands of firefighters’ pensions were being downgraded.

Government changes to firefighters’ pension schemes in 2015 would have meant that only older fire and rescue staff could stay on the existing pension scheme, which the FBU said was more financially beneficial than the new pensions package.

The FBU said that this meant younger firefighters would have to transfer to a scheme that would lead them to having huge financial losses because they would not be able to retire until 60. 

If members chose to retire early, at the former pension age of 55, their pension would be reduced by almost a quarter.

The union argued in over 6,000 employment tribunals that the changes imposed on younger members was unlawful on age, sex and race discrimination grounds.

The High Court concurred with the union in December as it ruled them as discriminatory.

The ruling means that the government should immediately pay back an estimated £2.4 billion owed to public-sector workers for overcharging their pension contributions, the GMB union said.

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “This is a hard-fought victory for the union and more importantly for our members.

“FBU members took action for what they believed to be right, and today, we have been vindicated.

“We never gave up on our fight for justice and we are delighted that our perseverance has paid off.

“This ruling proves that the government has discriminated against thousands of younger firefighters.

“They must now rectify the damage they unnecessarily caused.

“The Tory/Lib Dem government took no notice of the evidence we provided about the specific nature of firefighters’ work. An occupational pension should be based on the realities of that occupation. The government ignored this.

“The overwhelming message from this fight is that unity is strength. When workers unite we can take on the bosses and the government, and we can win.

“This is not the end, we will continue to fight for pension justice across the board.”

Labour’s shadow fire and rescue minister Karen Lee congratulated the FBU on its victory and said that the coalition government had “failed to recognise the highly demanding responsibilities placed on firefighters throughout their careers.”