WHILE I applaud the fire fighters for the dangerous job they do all over the country, I cannot agree with their demands for a 40 per cent pay rise. It is outrageous.

It is true they lives will be lost. The Army's fleet of ageing Green Goddesses, which lack much of the equipment of modern fire engines, will provide cover.

More will die in road accidents during strike action because there is a golden hour from the time of impact to when victims need critical care.

Modern fire trucks have hydraulic cutting equipment which can rip off a roof in 30 seconds - Green Goddesses will have just crowbars and hacksaws!

So when the Army takes over will they too be wanting to go on strike for more pay because they will be doing the job of the firefighters?

Military personnel face danger every day in today's unstable world, but they don't strike.

In my job I cheer when we get a three per cent pay rise a year. The firemen's demand is fantasy, not fairness.

Colin Henson,

Moorcroft Road,

Woodthorpe, York.

...The Fire Brigades Union has supported its 40 per cent pay claim with a detailed consultant's report.

This may leave Evening Press readers in East Yorkshire wondering whether they are the same consultants who recommended a 40 per cent pay rise for their council's chief executive and whether 40 per cent is unrealistic.

Because public sector workers generally consider themselves poorly paid in comparison with those in the private sector, one wonders why public sector unions are so opposed to any suggestions of privatisation.

Are union bosses thus denying their members a life of ambrosia in the private sector? Additionally, one must wonder why the Government would consider any transfer of service-sector functions to the private sector with its associated higher labour costs.

What is and what is not a realistic pay rise is often purely a question of who is doing the justifying.

Therefore, the winners in whatever sector will always be those who only have to self-justify, such as chief executives.

Richard Lamb,

Greystoke Road, York.

...THE firemen's pay dispute is the latest of what is a never-ending story.

There is always someone who thinks they deserve more and need to catch up - often for sound reasons. Teachers, nurses, firemen, council staff: in each case the same options are often followed - ask for more and strike if they must.

Each job could be measured for its worth in several ways: energy required, training, risk, pollution aspects, hours of work then an index could be calculated for each job.

Take risk for example. Firemen face risks, so do the police, building workers, armed forces, bus drivers and even the postman from being run over in traffic to being bit by someone's dog.

Having a job index for pay would show workers how their job compares when measured against others.

Overall pay scales could fall within a ten to one range.

The minimum wage of £5 an hour would go up to £50 an hour or about £98,800 a year for top executives.

A chief executive is no use if he or she cannot get someone to clean up, make meals or process the paperwork.

The unions should put pay disputes on a sound scientific basis and ask for a national pay structure to bring clarity to how each job is rated compared with others.

Colin Clarke,

The Crescent, Stamford Bridge.

Updated: 10:11 Tuesday, October 22, 2002