SCOTLAND’S fire service is failing to plug shortfalls following a decade of severe cuts, union leaders have said.
The Fire Brigades Union said there are 917 fewer firefighters than in 2010. This is despite a 3 per cent increase over the last year, translating to an extra 197 officers.
Chris McGlone, FBU executive council member for Scotland, said numbers have been slashed over the last decade.
He said: “This incremental increase in posts is nowhere near enough to make up the difference. The need for firefighters is clearly only increasing as climate change impacts Scotland.
“We need a radical investment in firefighter recruitment to keep the public safe. Pay for firefighters has been restrained for too long. The massive reduction in firefighter numbers has seen every firefighter take on a heavier workload.
“We need a real-terms pay rise for firefighters that is both fair and serious.”
The FBU said nearly 11,500 UK firefighters have been cut since 2010, a drop of 19% .
It said Scotland has fared slightly better than the rest of the UK. Firefighter numbers in England have increased by just 1% this year, while Northern Ireland and Wales have seen numbers cut by 4% and 1% respectively.
It comes as firefighters in Scotland are pushing for a fresh pay offer, after experiencing a real-terms pay cut over the last decade.
FBU members rejected a proposal from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) at a series of staff meetings in July.
Scottish Labour MSP James Kelly said firefighters are “sounding the alarm over the SNP Government’s mismanagement of our emergency services”.
He said: “Scotland needs a properly resourced fire service, but that is something the public just do not have at the minute under the SNP.”
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr accused the SNP of overseeing a significant reduction in the number of firefighters since coming to power.
He said: “The centralising of the various fire brigades was supposed to make it more efficient and improve public safety. Instead, it seems to have resulted in reducing numbers and widespread concern over its ability to function in future.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Liam McArthur said: “With an average of 20 retained firefighters or volunteer staff leaving the SFRS every month and hundreds of firefighters lost since the SNP’s merger, there are serious questions about whether there is staff to fulfil the needs of the service.”
A SFRS spokeswoman said: “We are continuing to work with the Fire Brigades Union to reach an agreement that is in the best interests of our firefighters and communities throughout Scotland.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said it had increased the SFRS budget by £5.5m this year, and argued the number of firefighters per head of population is “substantially higher in Scotland than in other parts of the UK”.
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