Firms urged to help in fire fighters' strike

As the prospect of another eight-day strike looms, Douglas Llambias, chairman of the Business Exchange, is to propose that each of the Big Four donate £25,000 to launch a mediation services, at the next council meeting, scheduled for Wednesday.

Llambias believes that council members have the skills and expertise necessary to 'properly quantify the real underlying costs of the wage claims and the skills to resolve disputes at a national level or where they cause significant local disruption'.

He added: 'There are many of us in the profession who have spent our lifetimes brokering business deals worth millions of pounds with many different kinds of people often in complex and highly charged situations. It seems to me this is a valuable resource which government, or any disputing parties, could tap into.'