Firefighters call off strikes after reaching eleventh-hour pay deal

Firefighters have called off strikes after an eleventh hour deal was reached over pay after a  new offer was made by employers the Fire Brigades Union has said. The new offer is for seven percent backdated to July 2022 and five percent from July 1 this year. The offer has now been put to a ballot of members and the union has postponed the announcement of future strikes.

 

General Secretary of the FBU, Matt Wrack said: “Today, firefighters were given a new pay offer. This offer is testament to the power of collective action through the Fire Brigades Union.

“Last year we were offered an insulting 2%. The employers have now revised their position.

“We have achieved this increase because of the massive vote in favour of strike action by firefighters and control staff across the country, which made clear the strength of feeling among firefighters about cuts to their wages.”

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The decision to postpone further strike action comes weeks after more than 80 percent of union members voted for strike action when they were balloted in December 2022.

The month before, in November, members had rejected an offer of a five percent pay increase with unions arguing this was below inflation and would be seen as a real-terms pay cut by works.

While the new offer may be considered an improvement by some in the FBU, it still represents a real-terms pay cut.

Firefighters have experienced a 12 percent drop in earnings since 2010.

The postponement by the FBU comes as the UK experiences another wave of strike action.

Train drivers, nurses, physiotherapists, civil servants, teachers, and ambulance drivers have gone on strike in recent weeks.

Their main complaints have been over pay, and a real terms pay cut in recent years.

This has been driven by high inflation and a rising cost of living putting a financial squeeze on many public sector workers.