GWENT fire union chiefs have welcomed the cancelling of the eight-day national strike which had been planned to start tomorrow.
Newport fireman Dick Pearson, who is a regional official with the FBU in Wales, said: "There is undoubted relief because the last thing we want to do is to go on strike, but Welsh firefighters are being stretched to breaking point.
"We have been put in an impossible position by the national employers. The ball is very much in their court to reach an agreement for the correct professional rate of pay.
"If they don't, then there is no doubt we will see the first national firefighters strike for more than 20 years."
Meanwhile, fresh talks aimed at averting any future national firefighters' strikes were being held today.
A new 48-hour strike is set to start from 6pm on November 13 and the union warned it will not call off any more industrial action. Andy Gilchrist, general secretary of the FBU, said the employers had agreed to make a "clear offer" on pay before November 13.
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