Military back-up refused for strike by firefighters

[Roadster280]

Col M -

Seems to me you paid tax on the whole lot. No personal allowance. This must therefore have been used elsewhere. For net 6K, or rougly f*** all, it does seem somewhat confusing. Did you get free housing or something?

[The Helpful Stacker]

The codes BR, D0 and 0T are mainly used where you have a second source of income and all your tax allowances have been included in the tax code applied to your first or main source of income. They simply tell your employer, pension payer or benefit office how much tax to deduct.

Quoted from here

[Scud-U-Like]

It all boils down to the firefighters attempting to preserve their cosy little archaic practices, such as kipping, rather than working, on night shifts. Their 'concern' for public safety is a smokescreen. It was not so long ago they were trying to hold the country to ransom for a 40% pay rise. And they wonder why some people are a tad sceptical about their motives....

[airborne_artist]

Mustard - if your were retained 9as it says on yr payslip) that means you were not FT - retained = lads who work in the butcher/bakery/candlestickmakery who turn out for fires when the siren/bleeper goes.

You had, or could have had another job, also paying you a wage. My best man was an accountant and partner at [big firm] and also a retained firefighter in a village in Oxon.

[Colonal Mustard]

Originally Posted by Colonal Mustard

as a result i had to have a second job, but here`s the catch, in order to "serve my community" i couldnt take any ole job oh no, i had to take one that allowed a "suitable level of hours" on call, this in turn meant I had to accept a lower paid job than normal to meet this, thus i found aviation

this bit you mean, yes i had a second job that paid £20,000

Total income of £28,000 approx

Roadster. no free housing i`m afraid, i was retained and thus didnt qualify for it

[Roadster280]

I had a drinking buddy many years ago (about 18 yrs ago) who was a retained chap in a far flung part of Derbyshire. Almost Manchester in fact. He lived in a MQ type thing, even though he was retained. Mind you, was a while ago.

I still think the FBU are in need of modernisation/abolition/annihilation, and then the firemen might get the recognition for doing a dangerous job, but without the collective whingeing. They might then get a higher salary.

Until then, the chaps/chapesses in green/blue are exposed to the vagaries of a trade union. Just f***ing wrong IMHO.

[Skeleton]

LOL Get off that fence Rafloo.

Fair point though.

Trouble is with firemen, they learn from day one:

1. There hard
2. There hard
3. There hard
4. There hard
5. There hard

Hopefully this time even they will realise the lead donkey may not be quite as big an ass as them.

I note no reply so far from anyone regarding how many firemen die on active duty compared to servicemen.

There is no service industry in this country that will tolerate what you guys want and rightly so.

[theundisputedtopgun]

Originally Posted by Scud-U-Like

It all boils down to the firefighters attempting to preserve their cosy little archaic practices, such as kipping, rather than working, on night shifts. Their 'concern' for public safety is a smokescreen. It was not so long ago they were trying to hold the country to ransom for a 40% pay rise. And they wonder why some people are a tad sceptical about their motives....

They are trying to keep retained stations open, nothing else. You'll have time to think about it whilst your house is burning down and the nearest fire appliance is still miles away.

Since the retained firefighters have more than likely just worked all day, i think they should be allowed to sleep at night if not answering a call. If you meant it towards the wholetime firefighters, what would you like them to do at night? Come round to yours at 3:30am and inform you of the local fire safety campaigns? Why can't they rest when not answering a call? I know i'd rather be rescued by someone feeling slightly fresh than someone completely drained.

[airborne_artist]

theundisputedtopgun - loads of things can be done in darkness. Training - for a start - computer-based, classroom-based, reading from books, fitness. Hydrant checking in the locality.

And when they've done that they can polish their helmets.

[Colonal Mustard]

Originally Posted by airborne_artist

theundisputedtopgun - loads of things can be done in darkness. Training - for a start - computer-based, classroom-based, reading from books, fitness. Hydrant checking in the locality.
And when they've done that they can polish their helmets.

personally a good old game of colditz always goes down well

[Elmlea]

Originally Posted by Colonal Mustard

SO what did i do?
I went on strike, not because i was a militant but because the government refused to increase my pay to a decent level, as a result i had to have a second job,

No offence Colonal Mustard, but didn't you look at how much the job paid, what the terms and conditions were, and what the pension rights were, before you signed up?

There's no excuse for striking in this sense. From what I understand, firefighters are annoyed that they haven't had their pay increased and have decided to stop doing their job until they get more.

How about this, firefighters; if you don't like your conditions, you don't like your pay, and you don't like what the government's doing to your job; quit, sod off, and get another job!!!!!!!

Nobody is forcing you to stay there, and if you were too daft to read how much it paid before you took the job then you've made your own bed.

[Colonal Mustard]

Originally Posted by Elmlea

No offence Colonal Mustard, but didn't you look at how much the job paid, what the terms and conditions were, and what the pension rights were, before you signed up?
There's no excuse for striking in this sense. From what I understand, firefighters are annoyed that they haven't had their pay increased and have decided to stop doing their job until they get more.
How about this, firefighters; if you don't like your conditions, you don't like your pay, and you don't like what the government's doing to your job; quit, sod off, and get another job!!!!!!!
Nobody is forcing you to stay there, and if you were too daft to read how much it paid before you took the job then you've made your own bed.

I joined at 21 , keen to Give it a go,have a look and see what i thought,(youthful asparations if you like)then after doing my basic training, Breathing apparatus course and then got my HGV with advanced i thought i owed them something, that philosophy stayed for 9 years until i was about 30 , after having my fair share of fatals etc and at the point i started a family thats when my personal life changed and i got a better grip on politics etc i did just as you said, i realised that if i left then they would find someone else to replace me and i did just that ...... I LEFT (after having been on strike etc)

btw it aint a case of being daft to realise the pay and conditions,(i was a younger!!! 21 year old) i bet your first few jobs after school didnt involve you poring over a contract of employment to establish you had enough beer tokens for the week, you were just interested in getting a job that you thought would bring you a fortune?

[Elmlea]

Well, my first job after school was this one, so not entirely true! While I was very keen on the job I did as much research as I could; I got the impression that few CIOs had 17 year olds asking about pensions and rights to PVR!

Why don't other firefighters take your attitude? If you can't support yourself with the pay from your job, surely you need to leave and get another; not hold millions of lives hostage while demanding things you aren't due?