Every firefighter in Manchester told they could be sacked

Officers put on notice in attempt to force them to agree to new 12-hour shift patterns

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Every firefighter working in the Greater Manchester area could be sacked in a bid to make cuts – with only those who agree to new shift patterns allowed to reapply for their former jobs.

All 1,017 officers have been told they could lose their jobs as the brigade bids to make cuts of £14.4million over four years, and the service’s chairman said there is “no alternative” to the proposals.

A new compulsory 12-hour shift rota is due to be imposed from April next year, and ongoing disputes over working hours have seen staff refuse to sign new contracts.

Management said the mass sackings option would be used as a “last resort” to make firefighters agree to the new conditions, according to Manchester Evening News.

Under the proposals, officers who refuse to sign contracts would receive 12 weeks redundancy notice and senior management said the new system would save the service £10million.

FBU brigade secretary for Greater Manchester Gary Keary said: “We are staggered that GMFRS would jeopardise relations with its workforce in this aggressive way.

“To start the process for dismissing firefighters to then simply re-engage them on an un-negotiated contract is really appalling, and a serious breach of the agreed mechanisms for industrial relations in the UK fire and rescue service.

“Since the notice of the sacking proposals was issued, we have been contacted by lots of angry FBU members. We will continue to consult with them regarding the best way forward.”

In June, it was announced Great Manchester service were considering cutting 250 posts in a bid to save money, despite senior figures warning the changes would “put people at risk”.

David Acton, chairman of the Greater Manchester Fire service, told the Independent: “Currently the Authority faces a further Government budget cut of £14.4million over the next four years. The scale of these cuts has left us with no alternative and no change is not an option.

“We are now trying to work with our firefighters and the FBU to agree how we move to the new system. We have not issued notices to anyone at this stage.

"We have no intention to make anyone redundant. If we cannot agree on how we do this together we will have to implement it on April 1, 2017.”

The Fire Brigades Union confirmed it will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the move, while consultation on the proposals is due to last six weeks.

In April, it was announced fire deaths in the UK had risen by 21% over two years, as national chiefs warned stretched emergency services were struggling to cope with severe cuts.

Fire services across the country face budget cuts of up to 50% by 2020, from the 2010 benchmark.