General Secretary Matt Wrack has announced the Fire Brigades Union have shelved plans to strike during the Olympic mountain biking events this weekend [11-12 Aug] after receiving "operationally sensitive information".

The strike, set to affect Hadleigh Farm in Essex, has been called as part of a programme of industrial action, including working to rule, announced in June against proposed cuts to Essex Fire & Rescue Service.

Wrack has said "other short periods of strike action" will go ahead as planned  after firefighters voted two-to-one in favour of taking action against cuts that have seen a 20% fall in frontline firefighters in Essex since 2008.

Those strikes are scheduled for August 11, September 5 and October 18 and will be the first in Essex since 2003.

The chair of Essex Fire Authority, Tony Hedley, said he was pleased that the FBU had chosen to reverse their plans during such a period of national exposure for the county.

He added: "This is 2012 not the 1970s and in all walks of life people are facing change and unprecedented financial uncertainty… we do not have a bottomless pit of cash and we have to modernise outdated working practices and ensure that we are using our resources paid for by council tax payers in Essex in the most efficient and effective way."

Posted 07/08/2012 by richard.hook@pavpub.com