Members of the Fire Brigades Union have staged the first of 15 periods of industrial action due to take place over the next week.
Firefighters staged a two-hour strike between 06:00 and 08:00 both yesterday and today and are due to strike again between 17:00 and 19:00 tonight (Tuesday)
Further periods of industrial action have been confirmed as:
- Wednesday 16 July – 06:00 to 08:00 and 17:00 to 19:00
- Thursday 17 July – 06:00 to 08:00 and 17:00 to 19:00
- Friday 18 July – 06:00 to 08:00 and 23:00 to 01:00 (on 19 July)
- Saturday 19 July – 11:00 to 13:00 and 23:00 to 01:00 (on 20 July)
- Sunday 20 July – 17:00 to 19:00
- Monday 21 July – 06:00 to 08:00 and 17:00 to 19:00
During these times, fire cover will be maintained on the Island by non-FBU members who will attend life-critical incidents such as house fires or road traffic incidents. Fire control will not be affected by the strike and will be operating as normal – people should continue to dial 999 in an emergency.
Councillor Phil Jordan, Executive member for public protection, said:
“It is unfortunate that the FBU has failed to reach an agreement with the government over its ongoing dispute about pensions, sadly this has resulted in this escalation of industrial action.
“As with previous strikes, contingency arrangements are in place to provide fire and rescue services on the Island with the help of non-striking firefighters. I hope talks between the FBU and the government will continue so that this national dispute can be resolved.”
Members of the public and businesses are being asked to be extra vigilant during the periods of industrial action by carrying our simple fire safety checks in homes and business premises, for example by checking smoke alarms, taking extra care when discarding cigarettes or having barbecues.
A range of fire safety information can be found at www.iwight.com/fire.
