Ballot in firefighter pay dispute

The crew were suspended for a second day on Wednesday

Firefighters in Greater Manchester are to be balloted on strike action following a day of unofficial action which has spread across the UK.

The decision by many crews to take only 999 calls follows the suspension of 36 Salford firefighters in a pay dispute.

The suspended crews had refused to use new anti-terror equipment, saying they had not received an agreed pay rise.

Arriving for work at 1800 BST on Wednesday, they were suspended again as they refused to use the equipment.

The Fire Brigades Union said it would ballot 2,000 members in Manchester after talks failed to resolve the row.

There is no justification for any such action, which could put lives and property at risk Deputy prime minister's spokeswoman

FBU representatives and fire chiefs met on Wednesday after a day during which protests spread to fire stations across England, parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Greater Manchester County Fire Officer Barry Dixon said the action being taken by his firefighters was "illegal" and could put lives at risk.

He said 32 firefighters from three stations had been sent home after refusing to operate the anti-terror incident response unit in protest over the failure to finalise last year's pay deal.

They would be allowed to return to work only if they agreed to "undertake the normal duties of a firefighter", Mr Dixon added.

'Inflame matters'

He said: "I find myself in the terrible position that I cannot support firefighters who are telling me that they will determine what incidents they respond to."

Mr Dixon rejected claims management had been heavy-handed in their treatment of staff.

But a spokesman for the FBU blamed bosses for the dispute.

"There was spontaneous action by individual firefighters angered at the bully-boy tactics of local managers," he said.

"These tactics can do nothing but inflame matters rather than resolve them."

AREAS AFFECTED BY UNOFFICIAL ACTION Salford, Greater Manchester Broughton, Greater Manchester Ashton under Lyne, Greater Manchester Merseyside Gloucestershire Norfolk Northamptonshire Wiltshire West Midlands Bedfordshire Kent East Sussex Essex Leicestershire Derbyshire Yorkshire Staffordshire Cornwall Devon Somerset Tyne and Wear Tayside Strathclyde

The FBU called on employers to stop "dragging their feet" and make a "sensible and constructive decision" at a meeting scheduled for Thursday.

The Salford firefighters were sent home without pay on Tuesday after following Welsh colleagues by refusing to use the new units, which contain mass decontamination equipment.

Crews at Ashton under Lyne, in Greater Manchester, have also been sent home without pay after supporting their Salford colleagues.

Discussions were also held with firefighters at Farnworth and Broughton.

Following agreements made last June for a staged 16% rise - which settled the previous year's nationwide pay dispute - fire crews were expecting a rise in November.

'Adequate cover'

But the FBU has withdrawn from the deal, saying the money has still not been delivered.

Greater Manchester County Fire Service said it was "disappointed" some firefighters at three of its stations had withdrawn from duty but insisted adequate cover would continue.

"Irrespective of the national pay dispute we are not prepared to put the community of Greater Manchester at risk," it said.

"We hope these fire fighters will soon return to work normally, until then they will remain off duty without pay."

The withdrawal in Salford meant general community fire safety work was not being done, as well as the refusal to operate the incident response unit.

Last week, Welsh firefighters refused to run the equipment, which could be used to decontaminate up to 400 people every hour in the event of a chemical attack.

Safety 'unaffected'

Crews in Merseyside, Essex, Wiltshire, Bedfordshire, Norfolk, Somerset, Devon and parts of Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, the West Midlands, Derbyshire and Staffordshire are answering 999 calls but not doing fire prevention work.

Some fire stations in East Sussex and Kent are also working to rule but a Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue spokeswoman denied reports its crews were involved.

The FBU said its members in Cornwall and Gloucestershire would only go back to work when the Salford firefighters were reinstated.

Crews in Northern Ireland are only taking 999 calls, the FBU said.

Three Tayside fire stations were affected, with about 30 firefighters answering emergency calls only.

Tayside's deputy firemaster Jack Hutcheon said public safety was unaffected by the unofficial action, despite the death in a fire of a 73-year-old Dundee woman overnight.

Crews across Strathclyde have also taken part in unofficial action.

A spokeswoman for the Office of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, which has responsibility for the fire service, said: "There is no justification for any such action, which could put lives and property at risk."

She said discussions between the union and employers were ongoing and they hoped to see an early resolution.

"But the union and its members must recognise the June 2003 settlement made payment of salary increases dependent on progress in modernisation and this will be put in jeopardy by further industrial action," she added.