FYLDE Coast firefighters could launch strike action for the first time in 22 years.

The Fire Brigades Union this week voted at its annual conference to hold a national strike ballot if their employers go ahead with an efficiency drive to change long-held working practices.

Blackpool FBU branch secretary John Barclay said: "Things have just come to a head - they're not only trying to take conditions away from us nationally but locally - they want to take annual leave days off us, remove overtime, not pay us for Bank Holidays, there's a whole range across a spectrum of conditions of service they're asking us to give up.

"There's been no industrial action here in Lancashire since 1977 so we're not a militant union, but they've just pushed us too far - this follows a similar move last year.

"We shouldn't have to contemplate strike action but they can't keep taking away longstanding work practices without remuneration."

However, Coun Lawrence Conlon, chair of the employers' national negotiating committee, condemned the strike call: "At a time when public services are under increasing pressure to make every pound go further, the employers have a duty to bring the national agreement in line with modern needs.

"The fact is the present agreement has grown bit by bit over 50 years without any review of whether all its provisions are still relevant and justified. Our proposals modernise the agreement without jeopardising it. For instance, the pay formula which has served firefighters well for more than 20 years remains intact."

Home Secretary Jack Straw said he supported the employers' plans.

The employers - local authorities including Lancashire County Council - propose a national basic wage of £378 for a 42-hour week (local changes would be allowed only with the agreement of both sides), to scrap the distinction between officers and lower ranks, to increase actual working hours from 31 hours a week to 35 (still being paid for 42), to scrap firefighters' two extra bank holiday days, to scrap re-imbursement of NHS prescription and dental charges, to cut some meal allowances and reduce overtime payments to time-and-a-half across the board (some are currently triple time).

The postal strike ballot will go ahead if the employers refuse to change their position, said Mr Barclay. The Fylde Coast has some 300 firefighters out of 1,000 in Lancashire. During the last strike in 1977, soldiers stood in using old-fashioned Army Green Goddess fire engines.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.