Firefighters are "losing more than £4,000 a year" due to their pay "not tracking inflation", according to Merseyside's Fire Brigades Union (FBU) representatives.
Firefighters across the UK are expected to carry out the first nationwide strike action in 20 years following a ballot over pay. FBU members delivered a "decisive" mandate for strike action with a majority of the turnout voting in favour of the ballot which ran between December 5 and January 30.
The FBU has given the government until February 9 to come forward with an improved offer on the 5% offered in November last year. The vote on industrial action follows more than a decade of real terms pay cuts.
