DORSET firefighters will be supporting national strike action during Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, as the row over pensions escalates.

Karen Adams, Dorset Fire Brigades Union (FBU) secretary, said members had been forced into strike action because the government continues to avoid any talks, despite claiming it is negotiating.

Strikes will take place between 7pm and midnight on Christmas Eve; between 6.30pm, New Year’s Eve, and 12.30am, New Year’s Day; and between 6.30-8.30am, January 3.

The FBU is angry the government has offered to only release full pensions to firefighters when they reach 60 years old.

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “Firefighters provide a first-class standard of service 365-days-a-year. These strikes will remind government just how reliant they are on our members’ commitment and flexibility.

“However, there should be no need for industrial action, and it’s absurd that firefighters’ concerns over pensions have not been addressed already.

“The government must stop claiming they are negotiating when they have refused to talk for two months and insist on forcing through proposals that are unaffordable, unworkable and unfair.”