Relevant to Yr interests

Let's begin. London's firefighters are approaching a very important struggle, one which is on a knife edge, as the GLA are threatening to sack all firefighting staff who do no sign up to new contracts by the end of this month. Here's why this matters:

The important thing to grasp is that the shift system at the moment—a nine-hour day and a 15-hour night—effectively means that fire cover in London is the same 24 hours a day.

The truth is 12-hour shifts open the door to “flexibility”, and therefore to cuts. If they decided to close ten fire stations they could cut maybe 300 jobs.

But if they want to get rid of 1,500 or 2,000 jobs in the London fire brigade over the next five or ten years, they can’t do it just by shutting fire stations.

They’d have to shut so many that people would notice the damage to the capacity of the brigade and our ability to keep the public safe.

But if they can have staff working where they want them when they need them, then it’s easier for them to reduce the number of fire engines on duty at night time...

In the day it’s not so bad, because people are awake and usually the alarm is raised in good time. At night, fires can go undetected for longer.

People can find themselves trapped at the top of their house, or in a block of flats, where the fire is below them and they can’t get out—that’s if they’re woken up by a fire alarm at all.

They can quite easily die in their sleep.

There’s no doubt that a fire at night poses a much bigger risk.

That’s why cutting night time fire cover is such a scandal.

The firefighters were stunning during their 2002-3 dispute. They were badly burned by their leadership demobilsing the strikes - which will make it doubly hard for them to come out now, but they almost certainly will. Anyone willing to plunge into a burning building to save your life deserves your support.

Europe is currently molten with this kind of rebellion. In the last week there have been general strikes in France and Spain. The question there is how can we get beyond one-day events (even weekly one-day strikes, like they have in France). This is a deathmatch we are involved in. It's them or us, and despite the crowing and snide remarks about unions having 'residual power' our rulers are deeply, deeply afraid. Hence, for example, the fear and loathing of the result of the Labour Party electing slightly-pink Ed.

Can we have the same action in Britain (we certainly need it). Yes, we can, but it'll be a quick, steep climb.