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UK firefighters march on London
LONDON, England -- Thousands of firefighters marched through London on Saturday to push home their demands for a 40 percent pay rise that has been flatly rejected by the government. The Fire Brigades Union said 20,000 people took part in a march and rally in central London in a huge display of solidarity. Scotland Yard, which put the figure at between 8,000 and 9,000, said the event had passed off peacefully. FBU General Secretary Andy Gilchrist warned the Labour government not to interfere again in the pay dispute or face the prospect of further strikes. Addressing the thousands of banner-waving, whistle-blowing, cheering demonstrators, he launched a fresh attack against the government. The way the government had intervened last month to prevent a pay deal being reached was "shambolic shameful and incompetent," he said. "If this government has the reckless audacity to intervene again we will be back on strike because we are going to win this pay dispute." Gilchrist, who was attacked a week ago when he suggested a campaign to replace New Labour with "Real Labour" said it was difficult to stay out of politics when the government was warning that 10,000 fire service jobs would be cut. He also stressed that his union would never accept plans to reduce the number of firefighters on duty at night. The issue has emerged as one of the main sticking points to a possible breakthrough to the deadlocked dispute. The union and local authority employers held separate talks with the conciliation service ACAS this week and further meetings are expected next week.
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