A wife and childs point of view regarding strike action: I’ve been actively following this page and all the stories from our professional firefighters, who are actually having to go through strike action in order to fight for what they signed up for and quite rightly deserve. Can I just mention, that it’s not only the firefighters who are suffering but their families also – because for some reason, a lot of people out there think that they’re also being paid when they strike! In the current financial situation every one of us face every day, it’s an added pressure that fire service families also have to deal with. I support my husband and his colleagues 100% during the strike – they have been given little choice but to take this action in order to stand up to protect their pensions. The financial impact is just one of many sacrifices we have to make as a family. My husband is a wholetime firefighter. He also cover retained in our area as do many. Allow me explain our life from a wife and child’s point of view. After a gruelling 48 hour week (which despite what many are led to believe, is not spent playing pool or drinking endless cups of tea!) my husband comes home from a 9 hour day. He doesn’t sit and relax in front of the TV like most of us do to unwind after a busy days work, he is often on call. This happens for two days in 8. Then comes 2 night shifts (15 hours each), with day cover provided on call. The rota’d four days off are spent providing cover on retained to keep our area safe. Of course this is all part of the job that my husband loves and we as a family support him 100%. You see when my husband leaves for work, I put out of my mind the scenarios that he might face that day – it’s easier not to think about it because the reality is it can be gruesome and traumatic. If I really think about it (which I try so hard not to) it frightens me. Yet, it’s these courageous men and women that turn out in the event that any one of us might need their help. If it’s a call that goes past their finish time, there they are until such a time that they are no longer needed, even if that means missing spending time with family. I’ve lost count of the number of nights broken sleep I’ve had from the alerter going off and then lying there unable to go to sleep properly, not knowing what call hes gone to and what time hell be back - all the while his safety being in the forefront of my mind. I then have to go to work the following day. Family get-togethers are affected because a lot of the time we have to stay in the area. If I didn’t go ahead and take our child to family gatherings etc… quite often we wouldn’t go anywhere. This isn’t an exaggeration, neither is it me whining or moaning – it is reality! I am more than happy to do this because it is my husband’s job and if it’s important to him, it’s important to us. I guess what I’m trying to say is this – OUR firefighters (because they are ours, we ALL rely on them to be there if we need them) are hardworking individuals who always put others first. Everyone else’s safety is paramount. That is why they do the job. It’s certainly not the attractive salary, family-friendly or sociable hours that’s for sure! But this fight isn’t about the money they earn (which in comparison to some MP’s is a minuscule amount, yet they risk their lives daily to keep US safe!) it is about them having the pension they signed up for. They shouldn’t have to face the prospect of being sacked in the event that they’re no longer deemed fit later on in their career, especially having paid 13% of their wage into the pension fund (by the way the rest of us contribute an average of 6-7%). It makes you wonder how many of our MP’s would pass a BASIC physical fitness test, and if that were part of their role how they would feel if this was them? Oh hang on a minute…they probably don’t contribute towards a pension. I wonder who is paying for that then? Oh yes - that would be you and I! I SUPPORT OUR FIREFIGHTERS 100% – I REALLY HOPE YOU WILL TOO. Please share.
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 20:39:48 +0000
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