I HAVE been a serving Greater Manchester firefighter for 16 years and I would like to make it clear that no firefighter wants to take industrial action.

And many like myself feel physically sick at having to abandon our posts and leave the safety of the public to a woefully inadequate alternative. (That is not a reflection on the armed services, who are doing their level best with out-dated equipment and very limited training.)

I would like the public to know why we originally came up with a pay claim of £30,000 (or 40 per cent, as it has been widely reported). It was the recommendation of an independent review conducted by "The Labour Research Department". This was exactly the same process that Government Ministers used last year to justify their 40 per cent pay rise. The difference being that the Government Ministers awarded themselves this 40 per cent pay rise, not staged, no strings attached, just a big fat 40 per cent rise! Tony Blair has stated that the Government is afraid of public sector workers copying the firefighters' pay claims. No Mr. Blair, we are just copying yours!

The 11 per cent pay offer was not what it seemed. It is 4 per cent this year subject to acceptance of a modernisation agenda that amounts to a rationalisation of the service and will cost up to 11,000 firefighters posts. This is despite a "Government Sponsored" Fire Cover review that indicates the existing provision in the British Fire Service is inadequate. A further 7 per cent will be paid to members in November, 2003, subject to fulfilment of further "modernisation", and as such is not guaranteed. Also, both the 4 per cent and 7 per cent increases will not be paid across the board, but only to the lowest paid members.

The Bain Inquiry was never an independent report into the levels of pay within the service. This was clearly demonstrated by the remarks of one of the co-authors who stated that the FBU would be disappointed in the reports findings prior to its commencement. This would suggest that the Bain team were working to a pre-determined agenda and making the pay recommendations in line with prescribed Government spending levels.

Some of the basic modernisation plans included in the report show complete ignorance of the current service. In Greater Manchester all firefighters are trained in basic paramedic skills and one firefighter per watch is further trained to the highly professional standard of Trauma Technician.

There may be 40 applicants willing to be a firefighter, however the fact that only one will make the grade should indicate to you the high level of personal qualities necessary to train to do the job.

The job of a firefighter is vastly different today than during the last strike. We have significantly modernised our skills and our equipment to meet the demands of today's society and of a more expectant public.

We are no longer just a Fire Service -- we are a Fire and Rescue Service without the funding for rescues.

We are not a bunch of "left-wing militant Scargillists" but a group of honest people, doing a tough, technical job, who want their pay to honestly reflect the work that we do.

The Government has deliberately delayed dealing with a professionally presented and evidenced pay claim until the last minute, and has forced firefighters into taking strike action. They have done this in order to slash the number of fire engines and firefighters by up to 20 per cent -- this will cost many lives.

Please support your firefighters and emergency fire control operators; we have always been there for you. Now we need you there for us.

Wayne Shields

Bolton Central

Fire Station.