Protest at move to sack fire station cooks

Almost 100 fire station cooks are facing the sack under plans to modernise London's emergency services.

They will protest outside a meeting today that is expected to make them redundant to save £1.6 million a year. The move is part of a shakeup of the fire brigade, with 10 stations losing a fire engine and one - Manchester Square - being shut down.

There are also plans to take one of London's two fire boats out of front-line service. But despite the changes, Londoners face a rise in council tax. Fire chiefs will today put forward a budget to Mayor Ken Livingstone that seeks an extra 8.8 per cent in their share of the bills from next April.

The removal of 97 station cooks - overwhelmingly low-paid women - is being considered by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, which runs the fire brigade.

It follows an internal survey which found declining use of the cooks, with fewer firefighters participating in "messes".

Since 1999, the cooks have worked only on weekdays, between four to six hours a day. Firefighters have to prepare their own meals - which they pay for themselves - in the evenings and at weekends.

Over the last 12 months, cooks' salaries have totalled £1.29 million, with an extra £282,000 going on agency staff. Unison, which represents the cooks, said they were a "vital" part of the firefighting team.