Reforms can end the fire strike

The fire strike should never have happened. It jeopardises public safety and must end. How?

All sides must move, but the biggest shift must come from the union's leadership. The FBU's boss, Andy Gilchrist, has refused to link pay with reform. That position is untenable.

Everyone admires firefighters and their courage. They have a good case for better pay, especially in London and the South East, where area allowances must rise. Yet the case for reforming firefighters' terms and conditions is stronger.

The FBU leadership argues firefighters have already embraced change. Over the years, they've taken on new tasks, from cutting people from car crashes to fire prevention work.

Quite true. Yet over the last 20 years, many public servants' jobs have changed, just as many private sector employees have changed the ways they work.

Yet many of the fire service's terms and conditions date back to the 1970s and before. They are a barrier to more effective use of fire staff and equipment, for achieving the best protection of the public.

By making a 40% pay claim and not co-operating with an independent review, whose 3 members include the Low Pay Commission's former head and the TUC President, the FBU leadership acted unreasonably.

If the FBU move on reform, the Government should then shift on funding. Britain's fire authorities are underfunded and need extra cash. But not without modernisation.