Essex fire strikes: Union calls off two dates (From Southend Standard)

Essex fire strikes: Union calls off two dates

8:38am Tuesday 24th July 2012 in Southend

ESSEX firefighters have called off their strike which would have clashed with the Olympic biking event at Hadleigh .

Members of the Fire Brigades Union had planned action on August 11 and 12. The action has now been cancelled by the union.

General secretary Matt Wrack said the action was called off after the union received “sensitive information” about fire service planning for the biking event.

He said: “The other industrial action short of a strike and the other short periods of strike action announced last week remain in place, but I remain ever-hopeful a breakthrough in negotiations will come sooner.”

Strikes are planned for Thursday, the night of August 11, September 5 and October 18.

Threats of further Olympic strikes by rail workers also appear to be dwindling after a vote by the RMT union was called off. Union members working for Greater Anglia, which runs services into London Liverpool Street, had been due to vote on Thursday about whether to strike over Olympic bonuses.

Other operators have offered additional payments and extra pay for working on rest days and doing additional late-night shifts.

But the union has called off the vote, citing the threat of legal action by the train operators. Any action now seems unlikely to be until after the Games.