Firefighters in Gloucestershire are upset over new shift changes, feeling their concerns were overlooked by the council during the decision-making process
The council decided to change shifts from nine-hour days and 15-hour nights to 11-hour days and 13-hour nights. This has left over 70 firefighters feeling anxious about their jobs. They worry these changes might push some of them out of the service.
Just before a meeting, the scrutiny committee got a flood of emails—79 in total—expressing concerns about how these changes would impact their lives. A bunch of firefighters even showed up to voice their opposition. The Fire Brigades Union is ready to fight back against these changes.
During the meeting, one council member pointed out that the committee’s recommendations weren’t shared with the cabinet. He thought it was only fair to delay the decision until they could really think about the issues raised.
On the other hand, the cabinet member in charge of fire services defended the changes. He mentioned that there had been a detailed consultation process and that they would consider reasonable adjustments for affected staff.
Despite the pushback, the Chief Fire Officer acknowledged that the changes aren’t popular but insisted they need to move forward. He promised to talk to staff individually to understand how the changes would affect them.
In the end, the committee voted against delaying the changes, with the vote split along party lines. Some members felt the process was rushed and not fair to the firefighters who would be impacted. It’s clear this issue isn’t going away anytime soon, and the firefighters are determined to make their voices heard.
