Firefighters protest over shift pattern change
LDRSDozens of firefighters have demonstrated outside a council meeting over plans to change their shift patterns.
Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue wants to shift from nine-hour days and 15-hour nights to 11-hour days and 13-hour nights for their stations.
Kate Yhnell from the Fire Brigades Union, said: "We won't see our families, we won't see our children - so a lot of people will be forced out of the job."
Chief officer Mark Preece said they had listened to concerns and the changes are needed to address an inadequacy in the service.
In December 2024, Gloucestershire County Council leaders approved the proposed changes.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has been told the changes are due to be implemented within six months, but more than 70 firefighters from across the county are strongly opposed to them.
They say the imposed changes to working hours will increase childcare and caring costs for firefighters already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
Dozens demonstrated outside Shire Hall in Gloucester and then attended the subsequent county council meeting.
Several councillors from the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups said the plans should be delayed or scrapped.
Ms Yhnell said: "People who care for elderly relatives will have to make changes at a cost to themselves.
"I hope the council will listen; I think it would be poor to ignore 80-plus firefighters and the committee."
Fire chiefs believe the changes meet the priorities of the community risk management plan, which could improve the ability to have the right people in the right place to respond to emergencies, increase prevention and community safety initiatives and benefit the health and safety of firefighters.
A previous statement on the plans read: "As a service we are committed to delivering an effective, efficient service aligned to the risk profile of the county, ensuring firefighter and community safety is at the heart of everything we do.
"We believe that the proposed changes to start and finish times will enhance our offer to the communities we serve."
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