Northern Ireland firefighters will consider any serious offer on pay during talks aimed at averting an eight-day strike, a leading trade union spokesman claimed today.
As members of the Fire Brigades Union prepared for talks with British Deputy Prime Minister Mr John Prescott, Northern Ireland FBU representative Mr Jim Barbour expressed hope a compromise could be reached on salaries.
"We haven't suddenly come to this pay rise of 40 per cent," he said today. "Our claim is based on independent research which at no time has been refuted by the Bain Review, the national employers or indeed by the government itself.
"Obviously we have to pitch a claim at a certain level at some level but we have always said that we will negotiate and that has always been our position and it is nothing new whatsoever".
The Police Service of Northern Ireland reported that during the two-day strike last week, there were 385 incidents reported.
Of those, 151 were hoaxes and 87 were genuine calls. There were 56 duplicate calls.
PA