DERBYSHIRE: Firefighters’ Saturday strike called off

Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service has received notification from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) that the national industrial action scheduled to take place on Saturday the 19 October 2013 from 1830 hours until 2330 hours has been called off.

This is not a conclusion of the negotiations over disputed planned changes to an extended pension age, just a postponement to enable further talks, according to DFRS.

Reservist Fire Crews first provided resilience cover for the industrial action on the 25 September 2013 following the FBU ballot for national strike action with the second period of strike action scheduled to take place this Saturday.

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A DFRS spokesman said: “It is important to acknowledge the time and commitment given by our Reserve Fire Crews, who undertook to ensure that the communities of Derbyshire were kept safe at all times.”

Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive Sean Frayne said: ‘Whilst this period of industrial action has been cancelled, I would still call upon members of the Derbyshire community to follow the wealth of prevention advice that the service continues to communicate.

“Just because this strike period is no longer taking place, this does not mean people should take their eye off the ball and become less vigilant to the risk of emergencies occurring.

“I would urge everyone to visit our website http://www.derbys-fire.gov.uk and have a look at our Community Contract where Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service sets out its commitment to keep our communities safe and also outlines the measures you ‘the public’, can take to keep safe, providing the first wall of defence in preventing emergencies from occurring.

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“Finally, I would personally like to thank all of our Reservist Fire Crews and non-striking employees who have given us their own time to ensure Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service was able to satisfy its statutory duty and provide an emergency response service during the industrial action in September and an undertaking to do the same this Saturday. Their commitment and willingness to work ensured the safety of our Derbyshire communities was and has been maintained at all times”.

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