We'll break any strike, say part-time firefighters

Part-time firefighters are preparing to break the expected national fire strike next month by keeping more than 60 per cent of stations open. The Retained Firefighters Union has vowed its members will not support stoppages by their more militant full-time colleagues in the Fire Brigades Union.

The RFU said last night it would use industrial relations laws to prevent secondary picketing and protect its members from "bullying, intimidation, threats and abuse" in any strike. Although troops and Green Goddess fire engines would be drafted in to metropolitan areas during a strike, retained staff now look as if they could provide the bulk of cover nationwide.

Retained firefighters, so-called because they are paid a retainer of £1,800 a year, provide 24-hour emergency cover in rural areas and all districts outside the big cities. Made up of shopkeepers, plumbers, builders and farmers, the service has its origins in the "parish pump" of the 19th century and has been the mainstay of the country's fire- fighting ability for decades.

Instead of working in shifts on two days out of eight like salaried firefighters, retained crews are on call round the clock. There are 18,000 retained firefighters in the UK, and 30,000 salaried. The RFU has 4,500 members and believes that, with 6,000 staff who are not members of any union, a majority of retained staff would work on.

Derek Chadbon, national general secretary of the RFU, has written to MPs and his members, promising it would protect them from any backlash by FBU members in a strike. He told The Independent that most people did not know much of the fire and emergency cover was provided by retained firefighters.

"It is important the public is reassured that, in the event of strikes by the FBU, most communities outside the cities will continue to be provided with cover by retained firefighters who will not go on strike," he said. "Our members live and work in the local community where they provide full-time cover. They can't draw withdraw their labour and see their neighbour's house burn down."

A letter from the RFU to its members this week states: "Be proud of who you are and what you do and don't let political dinosaurs shame this profession, part-time or otherwise." The union supports the government inquiry into the service, rejected this week by the FBU, and is demanding that its members are no longer treated as second-class staff with no pensions or sick pay.

Just 11 retained workers can staff a station at a cost of £60,000 a year, compared with the £800,000 for 28 salaried firefighters. But Andy Gilchrist, general secretary of the FBU, said the deal his union wanted would give retained firefighters £7,500 a year and an hourly rate of £14. "It is nothing short of disgraceful that the RFU, which alleges to be a trade union, won't be backing action that will help all retained staff," he said. "I find it appalling that the leader of the RFU is asking people to undermine our dispute."