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Bemused firefighters sought reassurances from their union yesterday after Fire Minister Penny Mordaunt claimed talks aimed at averting strike action had been called off by the FBU.
Ms Mordaunt had sent a letter dated July 31 to all firefighters in England stating that the strike talks with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) arranged to take place on Thursday had been called off by the union.
“All officials are bemused by the communication sent to firefighters by DCLG,” said FBU assistant general secretary Andy Dark, who said the strike talks were still very much on.
“The letter was sent without any communication or enquiry to the union.
“We have now written to the DCLG to confirm that the union had not cancelled the meeting and in the absence of any of our calls today being returned, we can only assume that this misinformation by the department is the result of error rather than conspiracy.”
The union said FBU negotiators will be attending the meeting with an open mind and are hopeful that even at this late stage significant progress can be made to avert the industrial action that has been called over pensions.
