FIREFIGHTERS in North East Lincolnshire have called on the government to get back to the negotiating table after holding an afternoon of strike action.
Many Fire Brigade Union members at Grimsby's Peaks Lane and Cromwell Road stations, as well as Immingham East, took to the picket lines yesterday to battle proposed changes to their pension schemes which could see firefighters working until the age of 60.
There are fears those not up to the task in their late 50s could be victims of "mass sackings".
Graham Quickfall, watch manager at Peaks Lane, was one of those who downed tools yesterday.
"The last thing we wanted to do was to go on strike but we have not been listened to by the government," he said.
"We are very concerned that the public are going to be faced with an ageing fire service and that many firefighters could be finished on the grounds of capability.
"Every firefighter has said they do not want to go on strike but we have been left with no alternative."
Mr Quickfall said fire crews were being forced to pay 13 per cent of their wages into their pension pots.
Across the country, retained fire crews and non-unionised staff responded to emergency calls while the strikes took place.
Striking firefighters insisted that they would return to work if any major incidents occurred both in Humberside and Lincolnshire.
Andy Waters, acting watch manager at the Cromwell Road station, said the rise in retirement age would be "unsafe for the public".
"It's unfair that we are being put in the firing line," he said.
"It is so frustrating because when we all started we signed contracts and now the government sees fit to change them.
"Our pensions were already changed in 2006 and now they are coming back for more, it's a real kick in the teeth.
"It's not nice to be going on strike as we want to be there serving the community that pays our wages, but we need to get the government back around the table."
Jason Smith, a firefighter at the Cromwell Road station, was on the picket line with his eight-month-old daughter Saiyuri.
He said: "We have all got families to look after and we need to be providing for them, but the government is taking what money it can.
"Even the new pension scheme has changed to benefit the government and it is still being made worse."
Fire Minister Brandon Lewis said: "The government has listened to union concerns – firefighters will still get one of the most generous pension schemes in the public sector.
"A firefighter who earns £29,000, and retires after a full career aged 60, will get a £19,000 a year pension and £26,000 with the state pension."
Cromwell Road Fire Station is hosting a Macmillan coffee morning tomorrow from 10am to 1pm.
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