Industrial Action.

Strike.

The United Kingdom's fire brigades are on strike. They will not don their gear and drive off in their fire engines again until the government gives them a 40% payrise. The attitides of the public in this country have been mixed. Many believe that it is "criminally negligent" to shirk their duties; after all, many lives will be put at stake. As many, if not more, think the strike is justified. A small percentage of the public believe that a payrise is necessary, but 40% is utterly ludicrous. The firefighters disagree.

In the fire brigade's place will be the armed forces. While not as highly skilled as the fire brigade, they do have some modicum of training in the area of fire-protection and the other duties they will be required to perform. Unfortunately, the fire engines that the armed forces are equipped with are aging, poorly equipped wagons called "Green Goddesses". These contraptions do not have the powerful pumps that the standard fire engines are equipped with. they do not have the storage capacity. In short, they are desperately in need of updating. Undoubtedly, this will be a dangerous time, especially with Guy Fawke's Night (the Fire Brigade's busiest time of year) looming.

Now, a 40% payrise does indeed seem like a tremendous hike. but look at that figure in context. At present, a firefighter earns around £21,000 a year. Less than the average school teacher. Far less than the police. Now let us put that into perspective. A 40% payrise will bump up a firefighter's salary to around £30,000. These firefighters work all hours god sends. They have to be ready to ship out in an emergency, in any conditions. They risk their lives almost every day. At present they're getting paid peanuts. A friends of mine has a father in the fire brigade. This man has to work a second job simply to support his family. Clearly, there's something not right somewhere along the line.

Our world is entirely back to front. It seems the people who do the most important jobs get paid the least; Those who perform an utterly unnecessary service are rolling in money they don't know how to spend. I wonder sometimes just what would happen if all those factory workers, garbage men, street sweepers and the like suddenly realised, en masse, that they were getting well and truly hosed, and simply took industrial action until they got paid what they deserved and the fat cats in the upper eschelons of the cancer that we call society were flung to the bottom of the payroll. The entire country would grind to a halt. But it won't happen. And why? because these people have been crushed beneath the boots of the rich for so long they either have lost all ambition, or they have simply started to believe that this is the way things should be.

So moving back to the subject of firefighters on strike, I think of all the people that have said "they should be ashamed of themselves, putting people's lives at risk." For Goddess' sake, will you stop and think for a moment. When you are ill, do you treat the cause or the symptoms? Should the firefighters be ashamed of themselves? or should the Government be ashamed of themselves for paying them a pittance in the first place?

I wholly support the firefighters' strike, and truly hope they get the 40% payrise they deserve. If the government are truly concerned with the public's safety, they will comply.