British firefighters have voted to accept an improved pay offer from fire service employers, their trade union said on Monday, averting the possibility of disruptive strike action in yet another critical public service.
About 96% of Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members who took part in a ballot voted in favour of the new pay offer, the union said. The turnout for the ballot was 84%.
The pay offer entails a 7% rise backdated to last July and another 5% increase from July this year. The union leadership had recommended the new offer to its members last month, calling it a "significant shift" from a previous offer of just 2%.
The firefighters had voted in January for a nationwide strike, which would have been their first national walkout on pay since 2003.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been facing pressure to help end a wave of disruptive strike action by largely public-sector workers like nurses and ambulance staff, teachers, civil servants and rail workers.
Trade unions representing workers acorss a range of sectors have been pushing for pay rises that better reflect double-digit inflation in Britain.
Ambulance worker strikes planned for this week have been paused in order to hold pay talks with the government.
