Manchester firefighters to get beds in stations
10/03/2011
Firefighters in Manchester are seeing the return of mattresses to their stations, after staff members were asked to carry out 24-hour shifts.
Under the plans, firefighters will spend 12 hours on duty and 12 on call, during which time they can get their heads down on the beds in the station, the Manchester Evening News reports.
However, they would receive just 30 per cent of their normal pay while on call - something union leaders claim leads to them spending some of their time on less than minimum wage.
"They could be called out to incidents at any time and this is where we have concerns about health and safety," Paul Fogerty, chairman of the Manchester Fire Brigades Union, told the newspaper.
"Is it safe for them to return to work after they have just put in 12 hours?"
The firefighters will at least be getting a better night's sleep than seven drunken stockbrokers in the City of London earlier this month, who were forced to bed down in a lift when it stopped working.
Posted by Michael Ewing.
