Controversial changes to firefighter shift patterns blasted as bid to hear concerns snubbed

Reviewing controversial changes to Gloucestershire firefighters’ shifts six months after the event has been blasted as “like being told to learn how to swim after being pushed off the boat”. More than 70 firefighters have raised concerns about Gloucestershire County Council’s plans to change their shift patterns and there are fears it could forece staff out of the service

The County Council’s cabinet voted last month to change Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service shifts from nine hour days and 15 hour nights, to 11 hour days and 13 hour nights for wholetime community fire stations. However, the decision was called in by opposition councillors who wanted the move postponed in order to hear the firefighters’ concerns.

Members of the fire and rescue scrutiny committee received some 79 emails days before their meeting highlighting concerns over the impact the changes would have on their lives. Some 25 firefighters attended the fire and rescue scrutiny committee meeting on January 10 in opposition to the changes. And the Fire Brigades Union says they will do “everything in their power” to challenge the changes.

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During the meeting, chairman Jeremy Hilton (LD, Kingsholm and Wotton), who was among those who signed the call-in letter, said his committee’s recommendations were not relayed to the cabinet meeting held on December 4. “It could be argued other members of the cabinet were unaware of the recommendations of the scrutiny committee which took place on December 2 two days before.

“We thought having had all that evidence in written form it would be reasonable to defer a decision until the committee had time to properly consider the issues being raised.”

Fire, community safety and libraries cabinet member Dave Norman (C, Grange and Kingsway) said a detailed consultation process took place in 2024. And he kept the cabinet abreast of the upcoming decision and regularly briefed them.

“I spent over three hours briefing my cabinet colleagues in advance of that cabinet meeting on December 4,” he said. “My briefings to cabinet colleagues were based on the feedback I received from the chief and deputy chief fire officer as the consultation process developed.

“I explained the process that was being followed and in detail at the stage when it was decided by the chief fire officer to offer a compromise to our whole time shift pattern colleagues and that was moving from 12 hour days and 12 hour days to 11 hour days and 13 hour nights.”

Cllr Bernie Fisher (LD, St Paul's and Swindon) raised concerns over the idea of reviewing the changes six months after the changes. “People would have had to have made all the arrangements they had to, if they can," he said.

“It’s a bit like throwing you off the back of the boat and saying, ‘fancy learning to swim’? It’s a ridiculous statement to review it six months in, because you are not going to go back then.

“The frontline firefighter affected would have had to make arrangements for elderly residents they care for, childcare, the dog… It’s throwing the baby out with the bathwater and it is certainly not the way to get good working relations.”

Chief Fire Officer Mark Preece told the meeting he accepts it is not a popular move which will affect staff. However, he said they do need to move the service forward in a number of ways and they will be mindful of firefighters' views.

“Subject to the decision being approved or not today, we would engage in further conversations with our members of staff to actually ascertain on an individual level the impact of that decision,” he said. “We have followed the principles of good consultation to the letter.”

The committee rejected the grounds of the call-in by three votes in favour and four against. The vote was split with opposition Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors voting in favour while Conservatives opposed the proposal.

Cllr Hilton said: “Well there you are. It looks like the Conservative group were whipped and they all had questions ahead of the meeting which I thought was not appropriate. Maybe in future written questions from cabinet members at call-in notices shouldn’t be allowed.

Monitoring officer Rob Ayliffe interjected to say there was nothing improper in members having questions. “I’ve got no evidence before me that those were prepared by a cabinet member or by anybody else," he said.

“The issue is, did members enter the discussion with an open mind and having pre-prepared questions does not preclude that being the case.”

Cllr Hilton replied: “Ok, we can argue that point. We can all make our own judgement.”