TO reasonable people the prospect of an 11.3 per cent pay rise is generous in the extreme.

To the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union it is insulting.

Andy Gilchrist is mistaken. What is insulting is his willingness to put lives and property at risk in pursuit of an unconditional pay increase 20 times higher than the rate of inflation.

Traditionally, firefighters have been among the most respected public servants in our society. On our behalf they do a valuable job, often putting their lives at risk.

But they risk losing much of that respect through the intransigence displayed by the FBU leadership.

No one opposes a pay rise for firefighters, even a pay rise above the average public sector award. The case that their levels of pay have fallen behind that of the police, doctors and nurses is legitimate.

However, their claim for a 40 per cent rise is unrealistic and unaffordable.

The interim Bain Report provides a realistic way forward to resolve the dispute by negotiation, without resorting to strikes.

The Bain recommendations will undoubtedly form the starting point of any future settlement talks between the FBU and the employers, whether or not firefighters go on strike.

By being unwilling to compromise and pressing ahead with a programme of strikes, the FBU is doing a disservice to both its members and the public.

In return for a double-digit pay rise, it is reasonable for employers to expect changes to working conditions which provide some degree of value for money from the investment.

Sooner or later the FBU will have to face up to that reality. It is a pity it has chosen to strike before exhausting the options for a negotiated settlement.

And even at this late stage in proceedings, we ask the union to reconsider its ill-judged strategy.

The FBU claims to have overwhelming support for its actions. It must not take that for granted.

We suspect public sympathy over the next few days will transfer from the firefighters on the picket lines to the military personnel on the Green Goddesses