Are UK FireFighters Still Heros even though they are going on Strike over pay ?

Yeah Shure they are Still hero\'s :rolleyes:, i mean they go on strike to get back at th goverment and the only people that will be hurt will be us..Joe Public.


i know you risk your lifes for us, but isn\'t your Beef with the Goverment ?

Firefighters will go ahead with a national strike on Wednesday after their union rejected the 11% pay offer recommended by an independent review.
Firefighters\' leader Andy Gilchrist left Tuesday\'s pay talks having rejected both the pay offer and the offer of a review.

The 48 hour national strike will start on Wednesday evening.

Strike dates  
13-15 November Starts and ends at 1800 GMT
22-30 November Starts/ ends 0900
4-12 December Starts/ ends 0900
16-24 December Starts/ ends 0900  
On Monday the Fire Brigades Union rejected the findings of an independent review which recommended the 11% pay rise over two years, linked to changes in working practices. It is demanding 40%.

Three other eight-day strikes are planned for before Christmas - the first national walkouts for 25 years.

Emergency cover during the strikes would be provided by the military, equipped with Green Goddess fire tenders.

But Sir George Bain, who headed the review, said on Tuesday his recommendations offered the only way of reaching a rational deal.



We have had no alternative (but) to reject a derisory and insulting offer to some of the finest public servants in the world.
 
Andy Gilchrist  

Mr Gilchrist said: "After some six months of trying to negotiate a way through this pay dispute, and two despicable interruptions by the government, who seem intent on provoking a national strike action in the fire service - no doubt in pursuit of keeping the lid on public service pay - we have had no alternative (but) to reject a derisory and insulting offer to some of the finest public servants in the world."

He announced with "incredible regret" that the strike would go ahead and blamed the intervention of the Bain report which, he said, had scuppered the talks.

Mr Gilchrist, who was cheered by firefighters demonstrating outside the talks, said he was not worried that public opinion would desert the firefighters.

He also rejected government claims that it was irresponsible, at a time of heightened security tension, to go on strike.

\'Dark forces\'

Earlier Mr Gilchrist had hinted at "dark forces" in the government which were actually seeking to provoke only the second ever national fire strike by refusing a deal.


The dispute at a glance
The collapse of the pay talks came as hundreds of firefighters attended a funeral in Leicester for firefighter Bob Miller, who was killed on duty last month in a factory fire.

 
Bob Miller died in action
 
A 45-minute service at the city\'s cathedral was broadcast to crowds outside.

Another firefighters\' union, the Retained Firefighters Union (RFU) - which has a no-strike policy - welcomed the Bain review, saying it could "form the basis" for negotiation and settlement.

The employers, who met on Monday night, also welcomed its "vision".

\'Rational and equitable\'

Fire service minister Nick Raynsford said he regarded the proposals as an "exciting, far-reaching" package and said the union\'s demand was unrealistic.



Firefighters and emergency fire control staff have been "modernising" for years without a pay rise. Why should they back down?
J Drake, Gloucs
 
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Urging all parties to engage in further negotiation, he told BBC News: "I believe most fair-minded people would regard it as a good basis for the future terms of the fire service."

He warned any pay hike must be linked to reform, increased flexibility and improved partnerships with other agencies.

Sir George said: "I don\'t believe the inquiry has scuppered the chances of a resolution.

"In the longer term it provides the only basis on which any kind of rational and equitable deal can be done."

He said both sides would have to return to the negotiating table, whether or not there was a strike, and he said his proposals would be there for them to work on.

there\'s just no sense of civic duty anymore


its disgusting

[GmanJoe]

Pray for rain.

yeah we now have the Army to cover while they strike

and they will be answering emergency calls in "green Godesses"

they are 1950\'5 Army Fire Trucks that where last used 25 years ago duing the last fire service strike

they are very slow
Easy to roll (on their Roof)
have low water / power capacity
Don\'t have Road rescue equipment (like the Jaw\'s o Life)
don\'t have any Hazmat equipment of any kind

ah well looks like us brits are screwed if something big and bad happens when they are on strike.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2233609.stm

[Kurt Angle]

If I earned what they are currently earning I would be happy. They are being too greedy, £30k WTF!

[Cerberus]

I have a friend who is a fire fighter, and I say that they DO deserve a pay rise, but not as much as they are asking for. If they do get the rise they are seeking, what happens next? The Nurses will catch onto the idea, as will the police. How can the pay rise be brought in without a hike in taxes?

having the same problem here in chicago... i really respect firefighters cause they have a real important and serious job, but people dont realize how well paying the job is.

firefighters make alot of money and for the most part have amazing benefits, most of em can retire by the age of 45 too.

this is just what im hearing on the news here cause the chicago firefighters are threatening strike.

well i dunno, i mean they do put there lives at risk, but they do earn a lot, but they cant complain to much, i mean its not like they didnt know how much they was gonna get paid now is it

Originally posted by LUKE
having the same problem here in chicago... i really respect firefighters cause they have a real important and serious job, but people dont realize how well paying the job is.

firefighters make alot of money and for the most part have amazing benefits, most of em can retire by the age of 45 too.

this is just what im hearing on the news here cause the chicago firefighters are threatening strike.

maybe the police will go on strike and then theyll have to make a robot to fight crime and theyll use the brain of a dead cop but nobody will know it and he\'ll go around blowing up gas stations and stuff that would be cool
whats up with strikes and chicago first all the teachers then dominicks and now there gonna close them all and the firefighters now

[videoholic]

The pensions these guys get are sick.  They make a heck of a lot more money than teachers and I\'d say teachers are more important.  Teachers are what keep kids from becoming total idiots and crooks.

"Let them have their tar tar sauce"

Originally posted by Videoholic
The pensions these guys get are sick.  They make a heck of a lot more money than teachers and I\'d say teachers are more important.  Teachers are what keep kids from becoming total idiots and crooks.

and arsonists.

[videoholic]

And of course once Miss Daisy gets a gig Mr Luke will be able to afford some games.

WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO