Eight-day fire strike called off
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Your support makes all the difference.A planned eight-day strike by firefighters over pay, due to start on Wednesday, was called off today so that further negotiations can be held.
But the Fire Brigades Union has also set a new 48–hour strike to start on November 13 and warned that further walkouts will go ahead later this month and in December unless there was a settlement.
The union's executive decided after a four–hour meeting today that Wednesday's strike should not go ahead so that negotiations with local authority employers can resume tomorrow.
The union's general secretary Andy Gilchrist said the employers now had nine days to resolve the long–running dispute. He said they had now accepted there will be a new pay formula for the fire service linked to the pay of professional employees.
Local authorities had also accepted the union's claim for pay parity for retained firefighters.
"They have asked us for more information regarding our claim for equal pay for emergency fire control staff with a clear understanding that they will listen to our evidence for equal pay for these workers, who are predominantly women."
Mr Gilchrist said the employers had agreed to give the union a "clear offer" on the level of pay before November 13.
The union warned that if the offer was not acceptable, the new 48–hour strike, set for 1800 hours on November 13, will go ahead as well as three eight–day strikes between the end of November and Christmas Eve.
Mr Gilchrist said the executive's decision showed it was being reasonable but he added that a "line in the sand" had now been drawn with a clear deadline for reaching a deal.
The union is seeking a 40% pay rise to take salaries to £30,000 and has rejected an offer for 4%.
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