In response, the government has begun open preparations to use cops and soldiers as strikebreakers, as it did in 1977, the last time firefighters struck across the country.

The move toward a strike comes in the wake of a sustained campaign over the past few months for a 40 percent pay raise and against employer attempts to attack working conditions. "There are people in this station who are on income support because they can’t afford to keep their families clothed and fed. We think that we are worth the money," said Mark Turner, a firefighter at Salford near Manchester.

In June 12,000 firefighters rallied in London to press their claim, while a further 5,000 rallied a month later in Glasgow. There have also been press reports of unofficial work-to-rule actions spreading from Scotland to fire stations around the United Kingdom.

Meeting in Blackpool days before the delegate conference, the Trades Union Council, the national labor federation, issued a statement backing the union’s pay claim. Other unions are planning coordinated strike action with the firefighters to highlight the lack of proper fire safety cover.

The union anticipates that strike action will cause the possible shutdown on safety grounds of airports, the Channel Tunnel, the rail network, and the London Underground.

Both the employers and government have reacted sharply to the threatened walkout. "It defies comprehension that a union... thinks that it can reasonably hold the country to ransom over such an unreasonable wage demand," declared Jeremy Beecham of the Local Government Association, which employs the firefighters.

In an attempt to scapegoat the unionists for broader economic problems, British prime minister Anthony Blair claimed that a 40 percent pay raise would do "terrible damage" to the economy. The union has rejected a government demand that it hold off striking and submit its claim to a so-called "independent pay review."

In preparation for its attempt to break the planned strike, the government has already begun to train soldiers to take over firefighters’ jobs. It has stated that 19,000 troops would be required to run fire stations and engines, and fight fires. London also plans to use cops in the strikebreaking effort.

London Times defense editor Michael Evans commented that "even with a medium-sized contribution [towards a war against Iraq] the added commitment to fighting fires across the country could put unbearable pressure on Britain’s armed forces." Earlier this year government Defence Secretary Geoffrey Hoon admitted that the army was already "at the limits of our commitments."

While 650 soldiers underwent training in the use of breathing apparatuses as part of the planned strikebreaking effort, 6,000 regular and Territorial army soldiers have begun military exercises to test their abilities to get equipment and ammunition to the Gulf.  
 
 
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