Members of the Fire Brigades Union plan to walk out between 18:30 and 23:00 GMT on Friday November 1 and for two hours on Monday. The FBU said it had timed the strike to avoid Bonfire Night and the Saturdays either side.
Peter Dartford, the vice president of the Chief Fire Officers Association, said that resources would be "significantly depleted" across the country on Friday night. Fire chiefs are urging people to put back any domestic firework displays to Saturday or go to an organised event.
Ministers described the union action as completely unnecessary but the union wants assurances about terms of employment. This comes in response to Government plans to raise the retirement age for fire-fighters from 55 to 60 years.
Fire Minister, Brandon Lewis, said: "We offered fire-fighters similar fitness principles to those the FBU accepted in Scotland. The FBU should reconsider their decision to strike, announced just four days into discussions, and work for a resolution to this dispute.”
FBU General Secretary, Matt Wrack, said: "It is ludicrous that after two years of negotiations the government has still not sorted out this mess. Fire-fighters are keen for these issues to be resolved through discussion, but the Government won’t even listen to its own evidence, which highlights that the schemes are unworkable and unaffordable.”
In Scotland, Industrial action has been successfully avoided through talks with the Scottish Government. However, there is no final agreement in place as yet.
