I am calling on the fire chiefs at Mid and West Wales Fire Brigade to sit down with firefighters and their representatives, listen to their concerns and have proper negotiations about any proposed changes to the shift patterns.
I’ve met with firefighters at Llanelli Fire Station and the Fire Brigades Union recently and I know there is genuine concern about these plans.
We all appreciate the amazing dedication of our firefighters to a difficult and dangerous job, which inevitably involves anti -social hours. Given most firefighters will be parents at some stage, shift patterns need to fit in with the sort of working day that partners and children are likely to have. The current 9am to 6pm and 6pm to 9am pattern allows that whereas some of the new proposals cut right across that and will be difficult to be compatible.