LONDON: British firefighters have voted to carry out a nationwide strike in a dispute over pay for the first time in 20 years, their trade union said on Monday.
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.
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. –Agencies
