FIREFIGHTERS across Merseyside will start receiving ballot slips today in a vote over strike action.
Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members are being asked if they want to down tools in support of a “victimised” colleague.
Kevin Hughes was sacked by the brigade after allegedly being involved in a brawl with another officer’s son.
But although police never brought charges, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) sacked him for gross misconduct after a disciplinary hearing.
The FBU believes Mr Hughes was harshly treated because he is the union’s third most senior officer locally.
Last week the FBU gave MFRS management a week to reinstate Mr Hughes or face the possibility of a strike.
Les Skarratts, Merseyside FBU’s general secretary, said: “We would urge all members of the FBU to take part in the ballot and to vote yes.
“This is about the credibility of disciplinary procedures, without which we think tensions will run high.” Mr Hughes, who worked out of Whiston fire station, was suspended a year ago by MFRS after the supposed brawl.
It was claimed the two men came to blows in the Victoria pub, in Warrington Road, Rainhill, in July last year.
