The Fire Brigades Union has warned industrial action is ‘inevitable’
(Picture: PA Wire)Firefighters and control room staff have voted to strike over pay, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has announced.
In a statement released on Monday, the FBU said that members had delivered a “decisive” mandate for industrial action with 88 per cent voting Yes on a 73 per cent turnout.
Strike dates will be announced in as soon as ten days unless the Government comes forward with an improved pay offer, the FBU said. Members of the union rejected a pay rise of 5 per cent in November last year.
The last time that firefighters staged industrial action was in 2003.
It comes amid a wave of industrial action across the public sector, with teachers and railway staff set to strike on Wednesday and nurses and ambulance workers to walk out next week.
Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “Firefighters across the UK have spoken. The Fire Brigades Union has a decisive mandate for strike action.
“This is an overwhelming vote for strike action against an offer which would mean further significant cuts to real terms wages for firefighters and control room staff. They have already lost at least 12 per cent of the value of their pay since 2010.
“This is an absolute last resort for our members. The responsibility for any disruption to services lies squarely with fire service employers and government ministers.”
He added: “Firefighters were among Britain's Covid heroes who kept frontline services going during the pandemic. The Prime Minister has badly misjudged the public mood by imposing pay cuts on key workers.”
The union cited polling which found that 58 per cent of the public back industrial action by firefighters, with just 33 per cent opposed.
Downing Street urged the FBU to return to the negotiating table.
"I think strike action would be disappointing and concerning for the public," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
"We will continue to work with that union to see what we can do to mitigate against the possible risks that that poses - and in the first instance call on them to reconsider and keep negotiating."
Research commissioned by the FBU and carried out by the University of Central Lancashire has found that firefighters’ mortality rate from all cancers is 1.6 times higher than the general population.
Firefighters are also dying from heart attack at five times the rate of the general public and almost at three times the rate from a stroke, according to the same study.
Mr Wrack added: “Our members risk their health and safety, and sometimes their lives, round the clock to keep people safe and serve their communities. However, with inflation and energy bills rocketing, they are now increasingly struggling to pay the bills or to afford the basics.
“The government and the employers have the power to stop strikes from happening by making a credible offer that can resolve this dispute. The ball is in their court.”
