This in from Stewart Blackmore in his own words. Ed
Labour Parliamentary candidate, Stewart Blackmore, warned that changes the Government is making to firefighters’ pensions are built on the assumption of a dangerously low aerobic fitness standard.
The Williams Review, which the Government itself commissioned, states that the aerobic fitness measure the Government is basing their plans on means “the risk of sudden catastrophic cardiac events increases… with a risk of sudden death particularly while undergoing high levels of physical exertion”. This flawed fitness standard would put firefighters needlessly at risk and fail to protect the public.
Plans not fit for purpose
If a more robust fitness standard is implemented it would mean that the assumptions on which the Government’s pension regulations are based would no longer be valid. The result would be that a number of firefighters who try to maintain fitness would be unable to meet these operational standards into their late 50s through no fault of their own.
Mr Blackmore, who visited striking fire fighters at their Newport HQ to hear first-hand about their concerns, said:
“The Government’s Firefighters’ pension regulations are not fit for purpose. They are based on an assumption about a dangerously low fitness standard, which would put public safety and the lives of firefighters at risk. Today I heard for myself just how seriously these dedicated firefighters are worried about these proposals and I support them wholeheartedly.
“The Tories can’t build a better future for working people because they stand up only for a privileged few. Firefighters risk their lives to save ours and they deserve better than this.”
Image: © With kind permission of Shane Thorton
