Firefighters must be consulted

I’m fascinated by the anger that appears to be fuelling the firefighters’ argument in relation to their dispute over changing shift patterns. So, during the last strike, I stopped and talked to some of them on their picket line at a station in London. Their feelings of betrayal and disappointment were tangible, directed at their leadership who were described with an anonymous “they”: “Why didn’t they ask us what we thought... how do they expect us to do even more with less?”Looking on, I can see that, as an organisation about to face enormous cuts, those managing this essential public service have to take radical steps to ensure that it is able to continue. I do not know the details of how the fire service leadership decided on the contractual changes, but I believe the decision would have been based on their logical and necessary analysis of the situation.