Firefighters vote for national strike

Britain is facing the first national firefighters' strike for a generation after a 9-1 vote yesterday in favour of industrial action over a 40 per cent pay claim.

Leaders of the Fire Brigades Union announced 36 days of nationwide stoppages, starting with two 48-hour walkouts and followed by four strikes each lasting eight days. The first stoppage will begin at 9am on 29 October, a date which the union believes will give the government a 10-day "window of opportunity" to reach a settlement on a claim the employers have condemned as grossly unrealistic.

The vote was one of the highest recorded under current employment legislation, with 87.6 per cent declaring their support for walkouts, on a turnout of 83.5 per cent. In Northern Ireland, the margin was 96.6 per cent in favour. The figures mean that, throughout the United Kingdom, around three-quarters of those eligible to vote opted for action.

Nick Raynsford, the minister responsible for fire services, said the union's decision to press ahead with disruption was "wretched and wrong". But Andy Gilchrist, the general secretary of the FBU, said the same could be said of the Government's decision to veto a 16 per cent offer from employers.

As the union announced the ballot result at its headquarters in south-west London, the Ministry of Defence was preparing about 800 ancient Green Goddess fire engines to provide cover during the stoppages.

The second 48-hour walkout will start at 9am on Saturday 2 November, when fireworks celebrations will be going on. The four eight-day strikes will begin at 9am and run from 6-14 November, 22-30 November, 4-12 December and 16-24 December.

Mr Gilchrist urged the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, who is ultimately responsible for the fire service, to "put down your megaphone and pick up the telephone" and begin negotiations over the 40 per cent claim, which would put firefighters on £30,000 a year. Mr Gilchrist described the ballot result as "phenomenal" and said it showed the strength of feeling among members. "Not one professional firefighter or member of emergency fire control staff took the decision to vote 'yes' in this ballot lightly. Every single one of them knows only too well the risks involved in withdrawing their labour from an emergency service."

He said firefighters were determined to end the "tradition of low pay" in the service. "Our members are demanding a professional wage for the professional job they do. All we are after is £400 per week take home pay, which equates to £8.50 an hour."

He said he wanted to see an end to firefighters working a 48-hour shift and having to go to another job to make ends meet. Mr Gilchrist said the dispute was not with the public and that full cover would be provided on 5 November and over Christmas. "The Government now has 10 days to wind up their discredited, farcical review to allow negotiations to take place and enable the dispute to be resolved before any lives are put at risk."

The FBU leader defended his union's refusal to participate in a review of modernisation and pay set up by the Government and supported by employers. He said the Prime Minister, Mr Prescott and Sir Tony Young, a former president of the TUC, who were members of the inquiry, had rejected the claim before the committee had investigated the arguments. The last national fire strike, in 1977-78, lasted nine weeks and ended when agreement was reached over an automatic pay formula. This time the firefighters have been offered an interim increase of 4 per cent pending the review.

Up to 19 Tube stations in London will close during the strike because of a lack of fire cover.