Firefighters are set to join the wave of strikes sweeping the UK, after a ballot by the Fire Brigades Union produced a “decisive” mandate for industrial action over a below-inflation pay deal.
The union said strikes were an “absolute last resort” for its members but that it would set a series of dates for action if the government and employers did not make a “credible offer” to resolve the dispute within 10 days. The ballot passed with 88 per cent of members voting in favour on a 73 per cent turnout after members had rejected a 5 per cent pay offer.
If the action goes ahead, it will be the first nationwide firefighters’ strike over pay since 2003 and will add to the sense of crisis gripping the UK as teachers join nurses and ambulance workers, postal and rail workers and staff from a string of government agencies on the picket lines.