The Fire Brigades Union, which sought a 40 percent pay raise, rejected an 11 percent raise that union general-secretary Andy Gilchrist dubbed ``derisory and insulting.'' He promised that 50,000 firefighters would walk off the job for 48 hours starting Wednesday evening.
``It is with incredible regret and great reluctance that the nation's fire service will withdraw from duty,'' Gilchrist said.
Before holding last-minute talks Tuesday with local government representatives, Gilchrist said the 11-percent raise over two years, recommended by an independent review headed by Sir George Bain, would ``completely dismantle the professional fire service.''
``If the government and our employers are intent on pushing forward with the Bain report from his discredited review team, a national strike will be inevitable,'' he added.
The union wants pay raised from $32,500 to $46,500 a year, a demand local and national government officials have said cannot be met.
John Reid, chairman of the governing Labor Party, said the 11 percent offer was four times the inflation rate.
``I think most people would think that the government are speaking in the real world,'' he said.
John Ransford, spokesman for the local authorities that employ firefighters, said the union was resisting more flexible working hours and other changes that would improve emergency services.
``We will not yield to unrealistic union wage demands nor yield in the face of bullyboy tactics designed to hold this country to ransom,'' Ransford said.
Gilchrist said previous negotiations with local governments had made ``considerable progress'' and accused the national government of scuttling talks in an attempt to keep public salaries down.
``The government has successfully provoked a national firefighters strike,'' he said.
Firefighters plan to follow this week's strike with longer walkouts later this month and in December.
The inquiry board recommended an immediate raise of 4 percent and a 7 percent boost next November in return for significant changes in working practices.
The government has warned that strikes would put lives at risk. Soldiers are being trained to battle blazes if walkouts go ahead. They might be left using outdated military firefighting vehicles called Green Goddesses.
The government has said soldiers would be able to provide only a basic level of fire protection, well beneath what firefighters generally provide.
