The firefighters' leaders have made a terrible mistake

The firefighters' leaders laid about themselves last night, accusing unnamed people of "trying to engineer" an eight-day strike. This is part of a pattern of trying to avoid their own responsibility for their disastrous handling of this dispute.

John McGhee, one of the union's national officers, gave the game away. "All we have been offered so far is an increase of 4 per cent, not a penny more, with any more money having to come through modernisation." In other words, the firefighters have been offered more than the 4 per cent in the first year, but the extra is conditional on changes in working practices.

The weakness of the union's position is laid bare. This is not a dispute about money, it is about the refusal of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) to accept reform. That has been the nub issue all along. Most of the point-scoring since last week's two-day strike is irrelevant. It does not matter how much George Bain, the chairman of the review of firefighters' pay and conditions, earns as vice-chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast. Nor does it matter who is responsible for the poor representation of women and ethnic minorities in the fire service, the FBU or the employers, both of whom are formally committed to equal opportunities.

The question now is whether or not the FBU will accept more flexible shift patterns in return for higher pay. Its initial demand for a 40 per cent rise to a basic salary of £30,000 was clearly unacceptable – and Andy Gilchrist, the FBU leader, has made it clear the union will take less. But on changing work practices, the union is immovable. That cannot be a principle for which it is worth risking a single life.

If the employers really were offering 16 per cent over two-and-a-half years, without significant changes in the way that the fire brigades work, that would be too much.

Firefighters are brave people who risk their lives to protect us. They deserve a decent wage. But they are already well paid, with a shift system that allows them to take second jobs. The public are prepared to pay firefighters more, but only FBU members believe that it is impossible to organise the fire service more efficiently. The Government must hold firm.