So a strike date is set, and tomorrow the smear campaign and hatred towards us will start...
but I'm going to put it out there straight, my personal view of why I am striking..... it's not about money, if I wanted to be rich I would not of become a Fire Fighter, I love my job...it's what I've always wanted to do...I don't ever want to stop doing it, but one day my body will start to fail under the extreme stresses the job puts it through, I stay as fit as I can to allow me to do my job but you know what....we cannot stop our bodies ageing....
and after years of blood, sweat, tears, loyalty, unquestionable dedication emotional scarring from seeing some truly horrible heart wrenching scenes, the day I'm unable to "as 55year old +" wear a BA set in hundreds of degrees of fire to rescue somebody or run up a ladder and pull someone out of a building I will be SACKED....
because I'm unable to carry out my job..
I will not be able to draw my pension, which I contribute double that of which the average person does into theirs, because the government say it's my fault that my body can no longer do it.
The fire brigade used to put you into office jobs if you could not fulfil your operational roll....well now they can't because it's all privatised, so it's easier for them to throw me on the scrap heap, I don't do my job for THEM....I do it for YOU!
I love "saving people" being part of a team that will be your life line during the worst possible moment of your life...but sometimes that leaves me haunted by the ones we could not save, I don't complain, I don't speak of it...I put on a brave face and pretend it doesn't affect me..but it does.
As of tonight the government and media will make myself and my colleagues across the country out to be vile, greedy, selfish monsters.....all because we don't want to be thrown on the rubbish tip and prevented access to our pensions, all because our old bodies are broken.
I can't tell you how heart breaking it is to see your fire service being shredded apart, all so a bunch of backhanding, barefaced, lying politicians can profit from its privatisation.
It's a sad day people, but please don't believe all the lies that you read in the papers or hear on the TV!