The Fire Brigades Union also decided not to participate in talks next week with a mediator, saying it would be a waste of time because the local authorities employing them will not budge from an 11 percent pay-raise offer.
``What we have been faced with from our employers is an entirely nonnegotiable set of proposals,'' said the union's general secretary Andy Gilchrist, who fears government plans to modernize the fire service would mean fewer jobs, fewer fire stations and major cuts in fire coverage.
``The employers have made clear they have no room for movement in any future talks. On this basis there is no point in pursuing further talks.''
The union also said it would proceed with two previously scheduled 48-hour strikes beginning Jan. 28 and Feb. 1. The Jan. 21 strike will last 24 hours.
Local councils have made clear they will follow recommendations in a government-commissioned report. It said firefighters should receive an immediate 4 percent raise and then a 7 percent increase later this year, but only in exchange for widespread reforms.
For example, firefighters must end their ban on overtime and accept more flexible shift patterns, the report said. Some firefighters also should learn basic life-support skills and how to use sophisticated medical equipment, it said.
British firefighters staged 10 days of strikes last year while campaigning for a 40 percent pay raise, which would increase a junior firefighter's average salary to $48,000.
Recently, the union has indicated it might be prepared to drop its pay demand to 16 percent.
The government says agreeing to such a large pay raise would open the way to huge increases for all government workers and wreck the country's finances.
Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said he believed a new strike would not help resolve the dispute. The job actions have become increasingly bitter, with Blair and strike leaders accusing each other of playing politics with public safety.
During the last strike, 19,000 military personnel provided emergency fire coverage with outdated equipment. The government said there were 12 deaths in fire-related incidents during the strike, an average number over a week.
