Bonfire Weekend Fire Strike Called Off

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Firefighters have called off the planned 47 hour strike - due to start this morning (November 5) - because of public safety concerns.

Members of the Fire Brigades Union were due to walk out from 10am in a row over contracts.

London Fire Brigade says increasing the length of day shifts and reducing the length of night shifts (turning them into equal lengths) is needed because the needs of the job have changed and it will mean more time for prevention work.

The Fire Brigades Union is against the changes which it claims will worsen working conditions and reduce night cover.

A major part of the dispute is around the possibility that if firefighters refuse to accept the changes London Fire Brigade will terminate contracts and re-issue them with the new terms.

Two eight hour strikes have already taken place in the capital as part of the row. There had been reports of trouble between those brought in to cover during the action and picketing firefighters - which yesterday led to an agreement between the two sides that there would be no intimidationof AssetCo staff.

Cover staff would have been using 27 fire engines instead of the usual 150 available across London to respond to emergencies during the weekend of celebrations, which is one of the busiest for firefighters.

The FBU said concerns about the ability of the staff brought in to keep people safe over the weekend was one reason for the call-off.

General secretary Matt Wrack said: "We have listened to the concerns about public safety, and we have watched the work of the private contractors who are supposed to protect Londoners with mounting concern."

Following the cancellation of this weekend's action the FBU and LFB will now attend a meeting of the Resolution Advisory Panel on November 16.