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UK firefighters' strike on hold
LONDON, England -- The first round of strikes planned by UK firefighters have been averted at the last hour after lengthy talks between unions and government. Strikes planned next week were suspended late Saturday so that fresh talks can be held over pay, union officials told the Press Association. The executive of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) decided that two 48-hour strikes planned for October 29-31 and November 2-4 will not go ahead after discussions with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. The union, which is seeking a 40% pay increase, will hold talks with local authority employers on Wednesday and Thursday. But the union warned that if no progress was made strikes planned from November 6 onwards would go ahead. The strike threat is the latest in a wave of protests by unions across Europe. Prescott had attacked the strikes before the talks as "completely unjustified," and said the unions' 40 percent pay demand was "indefensible." Prescott and fire service minister Nick Raynsford are launching a new fire safety campaign on Wednesday. The publicity drive will hammer home the message that in the event of a fire, homeowners should "get out and stay out" of their properties and call 999. The FBU is accusing British ministers of trying to blackmail its members about the level of emergency cover offered during the walkouts. Ageing military "Green Goddess" fire engines are expected to be put into action across the UK if strike action takes place. The vehicles, which were built in the 1950s and 1960s and have a top speed of 50mph, were last used in the 1977 firefighters' strike. The strikes are due to run until Christmas Eve unless future scheduled dates can be averted too. CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley said confrontation between government and unions had been seen in many European countries recently. But he said it was impossible to highlight any single cause for the action. "In France there could be a rash of strikes coming up because more privatisation is planned," he said. "The socialist government brought in a 35-hour week and now the conservative government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin is starting to move away from that. There will undoubtedly be labour troubles on that front." Spain's major trade unions called strikes over the summer to protest against the conservative government's unemployment reform, which they said would cut benefits to many of Spain's unemployed. "We also have strikes in Italy, which again is to do with changes in the law, and is basically resistance to more flexible labour markets. At the moment it is almost impossible to fire someone in Italy. "So there is certainly confrontation across Europe, but it tends to be slightly different issues in different countries," he said.
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