Firefighters across Scotland are being urged to back the first strike over pay in two decades after a union blasted a below-inflation deal as “insulting”.
Ballots asking if the Fire Brigades Union should strike will begin dropping through its members doors on Monday, and follows an indicative vote earlier this year which saw the majority of firefighters reject a 5% pay rise.
John McKenzie, the union’s secretary in Scotland, urged his fellow members to back the walk out, and said they have had £4,000 “in real terms eroded from their pay over the last decade”, adding: “With inflation soaring to 11% and the price of food, energy and everyday items going through the roof, a 5% offer is an insult to firefighters.”
Earlier this year, hundreds of firefighters took their pay campaign to Holyrood, demonstrating outside the Scottish Parliament to call for higher wages and increased staffing.
If the more than 33,000 members of the union across the UK walk out, it would be the first national strike since pension action between 2013 and 2015, and the first on pay since between 2002 and 2003.
“Our members risk their lives every day to protect communities and businesses,” McKenzie said. “The Scottish Government and employers across the UK must come up with a fair offer that fully recognises the cost-of-living crisis if we are to avoid strike action.”
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said strike action was the “last resort” but they were “running out of options”.
If members back striking, with the ballot running from 5 December to 23 January, they would be the latest public service in Scotland to take industrial action.
Last week teachers rejected the latest pay offer, paving the way for more strikes in schools.
And National Rail workers in Scotland are also set to walk out in during the festive season, potentially causing chaos across the UK.
Earlier this year 78% of firefighters took part in the indicative ballot with 79% voting to reject a below inflation pay offer of 5%.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Firefighter pay is negotiated through UK-wide collective bargaining arrangements, which includes SFRS as the employer - the Scottish Government is not part of these arrangements.
“We would encourage both sides to continue negotiating to reach a fair deal for firefighters.”
“The Scottish Government has continued the commitment to support SFRS service delivery and modernisation with a further uplift of £9.5m for 2022-23 bringing the budget to £352.7m.”
Meanwhile, Scotland’s trade unions have set out proposals for a range of tax increases and reforms they say could raise an extra £1.3bn next year.
Ahead of Deputy First Minister John Swinney’s budget later this month, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has published research on how more money can be raised.
It suggests a package of changes to Scottish income tax bands, including reducing the threshold for the higher rate from £43,663 to £40,000.
A paper, authored by consultancy firm Landman Economics, also proposes raising the higher rate from 41% to 43% and raising the top rate from 46% to 48%.
It stated that these and other changes to income tax would raise £867m each year.
Other suggested reforms, such as increasing the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and certain council tax bands, would bring the figure to £1.3bn a year.
The STUC said longer-term changes, including the introduction of a wealth tax, could bring in £3.3bn a year by 2026.
General secretary Roz Foyer said: “Ahead of the Scottish budget, we’re imploring the Scottish Government to end the excuses and finally deliver for Scotland’s public service workers.
“These are costed, bold and progressive plans that need a progressive government to implement them – devolution cannot be used to deflect.
“These proposals can be achieved - here and now - with the powers that currently exist in our parliament and we will work with the Scottish Government to achieve them.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson responded: “We have already delivered the fairest and most progressive tax system in the UK, while raising extra revenue to invest in public services and Scotland’s economy.
“The Scottish Government is committed to a fairer, more inclusive and fiscally sustainable form of local taxation.
“Decisions on tax policy for 2023-24 will be taken as part of the Scottish Budget on 15 December.”
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