Whatever the firemen get paid, they applied for the job, at those wages, knowing the conditions of service.
No-one forced them to take the job. There are plenty of people earning less than them. And there is no way they earn the same as an average supermarket assistant (I believe that the average fireman earns about £23000 a year - on minimum wage (around £5 an hour) a supermarket assistant would have to work over 88 hours every week to earn that) [Totally agree - be careful of sweeping statements]. If they decide that they don't like the job, at those wages, with the conditions, then they have the right to go and find another job that they prefer.
In saying this, I do have a total respect for anyone who works in any of the services named above.
I don't think that they (or anyone else) has the right to strike - and definitely not to hold the country to ransom. And I don't believe in trade unions. I've never been a member of one, and I never will. Maybe I've just been lucky in the jobs I've had so far (though I'm not so sure about that
).
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