Firefighters are to vote on strikes after rejecting a 5% pay offer, the Fire Brigades Union announced on Wednesday.
The union said 79% voted to reject the offer, with 78% of eligible members voting in the ballot.
A postal ballot on strike action will open on Monday, 5 December, to Monday, 23 January.
Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: “FBU members have spoken.
“This result of the consultative ballot, on a two week turnaround, shows that there is remarkable strength of feeling amongst firefighters and control staff on this derisory pay offer.
“The ball is in the employers’ and government’s court. There is still an opportunity to resolve this dispute and we will be writing to Fire Ministers and government departments across the UK requesting urgent meetings.
“We have firefighters using foodbanks. Our members worked through the pandemic to help protect their communities, taking on extra duties to do so. A further real-terms pay cuts is an absolutely disgusting way to thank them. Whilst strike action is always a last resort, our members simply can’t go on like this.”
The Government is not directly responsible for pay negotiations, although it provides a significant proportion of the funding for fire and rescue services across the country.
The pay offer of 5% was made by Fire and Rescue Service employers through a body called the National Joint Council, and was an increase on an offer of 2% made in the summer.
If firefighters vote in favour of strike action, it threatens the first national walkout over pay since 2002-2003, which led to the Armed Forces providing some firefighting duties. However, firefighters previously walked out in England in a row over pensions in 2014.
