Scottish Secretary of the FBU, Denise Christie, made the demands as final preparations were being made in Edinburgh for the No More Cuts rally, being organised jointly with the Scottish TUC.
Denise Christie said: “Tomorrow, we are saying stop the continued year-on-year budget cuts to the Scottish fire and rescue service, and guarantee a period of long-term investment.
Over the last three years, the fire and rescue service has seen the loss of 700 front-line fire fighters as a consequence of cuts to its budget approaching £60 million to its budget.
But controversy surrounds the VAT liability the service acquired when a unified fire and rescue service covering the entirety of Scotland was created in 2013.
Since that time, the service has paid more than £30 million in VAT to the UK government.
“The Scottish Government’s own figures show that the £10 million a year in VAT could potentially fund another 337 fire fighters’ jobs. So we’d very much welcome the VAT exemption – and we’re hearing today that we might get that VAT exemption.
“The firefighters play a vital role in protecting our communities, and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service continues to deliver the high standard of service required to keep Scotland safe. Since the establishment of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in 2013, there have been no compulsory redundancies and front-line services have been protected, with no closure of any fire stations in Scotland.
“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is currently exploring how it should develop to meet the new and emerging risks facing our communities, including how transformation of service delivery could see the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service do more for the people of Scotland. No decisions have been made on what that transformation would look like, and the transformation process will involve liaison and discussion with staff, partners and the public.
Last week the FBU were among the trade unions who supported the march on parliament by workers from closure-threatened Bi-Fab yards in Fife and the Western Isles. The march saw more than 1000 workers from the yards and supporters join a rally at the parliament’s door, which was addressed by leaders of the GMB and Unite the Union, with representatives of the education and other sector trades unions.
Gary Smith, secretary of the GMB in Scotland, described the march as “the greatest display of trade union unity in Scotland in a generation”.
“It is important that we are out there campaigning and supporting other unions, and it is good for our members to see other unions supporting us. We support the STUC’s campaign on progressive taxation – the only way you can fund public services is to have a progressive taxation in place in Scotland.
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