Firefighters can win
TONY BLAIR is waging war on the firefighters. He’s refusing to finance their wage claim but his arguments are backed up by lies:
Lie No 1 – The firefighters’ claim will wreck the economy
There’s more than enough money to meet the firefighters’ full claim of £30,000 a year which would cost around £450 million. Just restoring corporation tax to its level before 2001 would release £11 billion a year.
Blair doesn’t want to pay the firefighters. He’s doing the bidding of his big business backers who want public services on the cheap so they can maintain their profits and mega salaries.
Lie No 2 – The firefighters don’t want to modernise
As the FBU has explained, firefighters have been modernising for the past 25 years. But Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has admitted that their ‘modernisation’ means up to 11,000 job cuts.
Lie No 3 – The firefighters can’t win
The firefighters have enormous public support. Teachers, council workers, lecturers and support staff in colleges and universities, rail workers have all been on strike in the past few weeks over low pay. Workers see that it’s in their interests for the firefighters to win. With solidarity action they can.