Almost 30,000 firefighters were involved in the fire service national strike November 1977 - January 1978 and over 1.25 million working days were lost. Emergency cover was provided by 10,000 servicemen using a fleet of 'Green Goddess' engines. Firemen earned £3700 p.a. for a 48 hours week and there was widespread public support for the strikers. The Fire Brigades Union demand for a 30% increase was outside the government 10% limit on wage increases.

This photograph shows a FBU lobby of the TUC General Council at Congress House, London on 21 December 1977 calling for a TUC campaign against the government's pay guidelines. Although the TUC opposed the pay policy, it refused to launch a campaign. After 9 weeks, the FBU agreed a 10% pay rise with employers.

Title	Firefighters National Strike, 1977
Maker	--
Production Date	1977
Format	Photograph
Copyright	--
Holding Institution	TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University
Related Objects	--