Union rally as fire strike begins

Firefighters are angry over proposed changes to their shifts

About 80 striking firefighters, bus drivers and postal workers have taken part in a rally in Sheffield.

The event began at the Central Fire Station in Eyre Street at 1600 GMT to coincide with the start of an eight-hour walkout by fire crews in the city.

The strike is the first of five consecutive days of walkouts by Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members in a row over planned changes to shift patterns.

It comes after the FBU rejected the fire service's latest offer on Friday.

South Yorkshire Fire Service said it had made "major concessions" but the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said it was not happy with the conditions.

'Moral support'

Ian Murray, the FBU's regional secretary of Yorkshire and Humber, said: "This rally involves several unions representing a number of workforces involved in industrial disputes in Sheffield.

"It is giving us not just moral support but there have also been pledges of financial support from other unions and other fire brigades around the country."

South Yorkshire fire crews have already staged two walk-outs and will now strike from 1600 GMT until midnight from Saturday until Wednesday.

The FBU has also announced a further nine periods of strike action between 6 and 9 November.

The row started after 744 employees were threatened with dismissal if they did not accept new employment contracts stating they had to work 12-hour day and night shifts instead of nine-hour days and 15-hour nights.

The fire service said its latest offer had included the removal of any mention of eventual movement to 12-hour shifts.

Other "concessions" included confirmation that a contractual change would not be enforced and the "dismissal and re-engagement process" would be declared void.

Disciplinary issues

The FBU said it would call off the strikes if the fire authority agreed to withdraw its threat of dismissal without a condition for immediate acceptance of shift changes.

A fourth day of strike action by bus drivers in Sheffield went ahead on Saturday after talks between operator First and union officials broke down.

Staff were taking part in a 24-hour walkout over disciplinary issues at the city's Olive Grove bus depot.

Postal workers in Sheffield supported the latest walkout in their dispute with Royal Mail, disrupting deliveries for the third consecutive day.

The Communication Workers' Union is protesting against job cuts, modernisation plans and pay.