ANY deal on firefighters' pensions struck in Scotland could help avoid a strike across the UK, a demonstration of more than 300 Fire Brigades Union protesters at Holyrood has been told.
The FBU is warning that plans to raise their retirement age from 55 to 60 will provoke strike action, as many officers in that age range will fail tough fitness tests, making them forcibly redundant.
Police officers joined their fire brigade colleagues for the demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament, as they, too, contested proposed worsening of their pension arrangements.
Firefighters could pay up to 17% of their wages into their pension and be forced to work until they are 60, or leave early without access to their pension, according to the FBU.
General secretary Matt Wrack said the idea that experienced members who had paid in high pension contributions for years only to face "capability dismissal" for failing a fitness test in their late 50s was unacceptable.
He added: "We need talks pretty damned quick. A ballot on strike action is imminent and I am confident members will vote yes to that."
Scottish Secretary John Duffy said dismissing older firefighters because of fitness tests was "not acceptable" and the union was not backing off until the issue was addressed.
He praised ministers for discussing potential solutions, adding: "If we can crack a deal here, any deal can be taken across the rest of the UK."
He said that across the country there were only 21 backroom jobs, so shifting officers into these posts was not an option.
Calum Steele, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, accused the UK Government of "extortion" by forcing the Scottish Government to choose between passing on the cut in pensions to employees or taking a cut in the Scottish block grant.
Labour's Ken MacIntosh supported the case for the fire and police officers maintaining their pension rights, but for the Tories John Lamont was critical of their strike threat, saying: "Given that next week Scotland's fire and rescue service will undergo the biggest change in its history, threatening strike action is irresponsible and churlish."
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