Firefighters begin second strike

Fire cover is being provided by the authority's former firefighters

A second strike by firefighters has begun on Merseyside, only two hours after the first ended.

Up to 1,000 members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have walked out for four days, as talks to avert the action continue.

Talks have broken up between the union and the Merseyside Fire Authority but are due to resume on Tuesday.

Union members claim that about 140 fire fighting jobs are being axed. The fire authority denies redundancy plans.

Second walkout

The firefighters ended their first walkout at 1000 BST on Monday and went back on duty for two hours.

The second four-day stoppage began at noon.

The Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service described Monday's talks as constructive.

But a spokesman added: "There is still reluctance from the FBU to accept that the authority must achieve its financial savings to meet its budget.

Backtracking claim

"The authority has a £3.5 million budget deficit. This is an unequivocal fact."

However, the Fire Brigades Union accused the authority of backtracking on key areas.

Les Skarretts, the union's Merseyside Brigade secretary, said: "Both sides should be free to enter talks with their own negotiating positions and views.

"The fire authority appears to be close to moving back to a position of only having talks if they restrict us to talking about where £3.5m worth of cuts will be."

During the strike, cover is provided by managers and fire authority office staff, who have all previously worked as operational firefighters.