LONDON, December 9 (Sputnik) – Firefighters will start a 24-hour strike in England on Tuesday amid a long-standing dispute with the UK government over pensions, the Daily Mail reports.
"Firefighters in England are reluctantly calling further strike action as a direct result of the Westminster government's failure to listen and negotiate over pensions," Fire Brigades Union (FBU) general secretary Matt Wrack said, as quoted by the Daily Mail Tuesday.
"We are not going to give up or go away. Firefighters will fight for however long it takes to secure a fair pensions deal. This dispute will not end as long as the regulations remain unchanged," Wrack stressed.
According to the Daily Mail, FBU members will walk out at 9 a.m. local time (09:00 GMT), in protest against government changes to pensions, which have led to a three-year row between the union and British authorities.
The protest action is the latest in a series of strikes organized by FBU amid the ongoing dispute.
Union officials claim that the new government reforms, which stipulate lower pensions for firefighters who go into retirement before age 60 if they cannot pass a fitness test, are unfair to the retirees.
