20 September 2002
With firefighters, local government workers and staff on the London Underground set to strike over pay, the month will see a series of repeated disruptions which will focus public discontent with services.
All 52,000 members of the Fire Brigades Union voted unanimously last week for discontinuous strike action in support of their 39% pay claim.
Ballot papers will be sent out on September 27 with the results expected by October 18. The union was warning that strike action could begin as early as October 25.
It will be the first strike by firefighters for 25 years and will cover all of the UK. The union must keep the action going for at least 28 days or it will be forced to re-ballot its members.
The government has set up an independent review of firefighters' pay and conditions led by Professor Sir George Bain, but the union has refused to co-operate.
'The cost of our pay demand would be 41p per week per household in the UK, which is a small price to pay for the professional service that our members provide,' said Andy Gilchrist, FBU general secretary.
Fire service minister Nick Raynsford said industrial action was unjustifiable and would put people's lives at risk. 'They want higher pay – we've set up a review but they are refusing to co-operate with it.'
London looks likely to be the flashpoint for other workers striking over pay on October 1, with around 100,000 local government workers and Tube staff from the two main transport unions, Aslef and the RMT, holding a day of action.
Council workers are striking for a £4,000 flat rate in London weighting. They are currently paid between £2,643 and £2,674 for inner London. Councils say that if the demands were met it would add £250m to their pay bill. They have offered workers a 4% increase.
Tube staff will be holding one-day strikes over September 24–25 and October 1–2 which are likely to grind the network to a halt.
Mick Rix, general secretary of Aslef, described the 3% pay offer as 'unacceptable'.
But London Underground said it had no intention of 'caving in to threats' and said the responsibility for the 'misery caused by two pointless strikes' was the unions' alone.
PFsep2002
