A SURREY firefighter says the county's chief fire officer is blackmailing workers into not striking this Wednesday.
And there are claims his stance is putting residents at unnecessary risk.
A national four-hour walk out is to happen at midday on Wednesday in a row over Government changes to firefighter pensions and the age of retirement.
However, the chief fire officer in Surrey has told firefighters that they will be locked out for their whole shift if they take part in the four-hour strike. Surrey is thought to be one of only two fire services across the country which has issued such an ultimatum to staff.
A serving Surrey firefighter told this paper it is akin to blackmail, with firefighters less likely to take part in the walk-out if they face losing a whole day's, rather than four hours' pay.
He says the lock-out also means firefighters will not be able to use their stations or facilities if there is a major incident for which they would abandon their walk-out.
The serving Surrey firefighter, who we have agreed not to name said: "The strike is for four hours but our chief fire officer is going to be locking us out from 9am until 6pm. And because he is locking us out, there will be no cover in Surrey even if there is a major incident. The general public is going to be more at risk."
He branded reductions to pensions, and raising the retirement age to 60, as "criminal".
Jim Parrott, who represents the South East on the Fire Brigades Union's executive council, said: "We are extremely concerned about the implications of this decision for our members and the people of Surrey.
"The decision is completely unnecessary and displays an aggressive disregard for common sense. We certainly don't want this situation to erupt into a local dispute but there is a limit to how far the staff will be bullied and intimidated.
"The fire authority must change its stance and adhere to national guidance as other f ire authorities havedone."
Surrey County Council, which runs the fire service, last week said a private Dorking-based company would provide contingency cover during the strike.
They declined to comment on the stance of the chief fire officer.
