Firefighters reject union recommendation to accept pay offer

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday March 19, 2003 22:55 by Liverpool Irish Fireman - Mersyside Fire Brigade

Firefighters reject union recommendation to accept pay offer

Hopes of an end to the firefighters dispute have collapsed as union activists overturned a recommendation from their leaders to accept a final pay offer.

Delegates at a recalled national conference of the Fire Brigades Union voted to recommend "in the strongest terms possible" that firemen and women reject the offer.

The deal would be worth 16% over three years, linked to changes in working practices.

Around 250 union delegates meeting in Brighton voted overwhelmingly to recommend rejection, which went against a surprise decision by the union's executive.

Rank and file members expressed outrage at the executive's decision to recommend acceptance of the offer and call off a 24-hour strike planned to start at 6pm on Thursday.

The proposals deal will now be discussed by firefighters across the country over the next two weeks before another national conference decides whether to accept the deal or continue with industrial action.

The FBU's general secretary, Andy Gilchrist, had argued that the offer was the best available in the current political climate and was worthy of recommendation.

He appealed for unity at today's conference, which was closed to the media, but he faced criticism from activists.

The executive had voted by 12 to six to recommend the offer, revealing splits in the leadership for the first time since a campaign of industrial action was launched last year.

Some of the delegates said the offer was little different to one previously rejected and described it as a rubbish deal.