Fire strike on as talks collapse

Tony Blair visited armed forces on fire duty

Another eight-day firefighters' strike seems set to go ahead after talks between their union and employers ended without agreement and Tony Blair refused to budge on pay.

It means the stoppage due to begin on Wednesday remains on the cards.

On Friday, the prime minister again said that firefighters could only get a pay rise of more than 4% rise through modernisation of the fire service.

We have learned a lot from how the armed forces have coped while the firefighters have been on strike

Tony Blair

And he stressed the "brilliant" work of the armed forces in standing in for firefighters during the dispute - suggesting the working practices used by soldiers could be transferred to the fire service.

The talks between employers and the Fire Brigades Union ended on Friday without signs of a breakthrough, FBU assistant general secretary Mike Fordham said.

The two sides met for more than three hours at a London hotel.

No fresh offers were made - and had not been expected - during the meeting.

Mr Fordham said the government's position on the dispute had been "less than helpful".

Charles Nolda, chief executive of the Employers' Organisation, said there had been a "useful" exchange of views during the talks, which had earlier been described as "secretarial" to exchange notes.

More action?

He held out hope that the FBU may still call off next week's strike - but Mr Fordham said the action remained likely.

Separate talks will be held by both sides on Monday, with the union's executive having to decide whether it wants to call further industrial action after Christmas.

But the strained relations between the government and firefighters were sustained when Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said a union official was "not fit to lace the boots" of soldiers standing in for striking crews.

His outburst came after FBU national officer Dave Patten said it was a "myth" that the military was coping well with the strike.

Strikers stay determined
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Earlier, visiting a Territorial Army centre doubling up as an armed forces fire station in Darlington, County Durham, Mr Blair maintained his blunt message to the firefighters.

"Under the existing pay formula which has been in place for 25 years, there's 4% on the table," he said.

"That's as much as anyone is getting in other parts of the public sector.

"If they want more than that, it's got to be paid for by a change in working practices and people have to get round the table and negotiate on that basis."

Changes

Mr Blair, who was jeered by firefighters outside the TA centre, said the current strikes could not be justified and added: "The armed forces have coped brilliantly.

"We have learned about shift work and part-time and full-time people responding to incidents together and these are the basic changes that can be achieved.

There is enormous scope with the change in working practices to deliver to firefighters a really significant pay increase

Nick Raynsford

"We have learned a lot from how the armed forces have coped while the firefighters have been on strike." Meanwhile, the government is putting the finishing touches to its assessment of events during the eight-day strike, to be published early next week.

The prime minister's official spokesman insisted the document would be a "statistical, dry analysis of what happened during the strike" and would not be used to demonstrate inefficiencies in working practices.

The current strike is set to end at 0900 GMT on Saturday, with the next eight day-walkout planned to start on Wednesday and another on 16 December.

Trade unions are preparing to show their support for the FBU with a national demonstration on 7 December.