Firefighters and fire control staff have been offered an above-inflation pay rise and improvements to maternity pay, their union announced.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said they had also been offered a big increase to the retainer paid to on-call firefighters.

Following months of talks with employers, the union said it had been offered a pay rise of 4% and a minimum maternity pay entitlement of 26 weeks on full pay.

The deal also includes a 50% increase in the retainer paid to firefighters on the Retained Duty System, from a maximum of 10% of basic pay to 15%, which the FBU said was the first such rise in decades.

The union is recommending the offer to its members who will now be balloted on whether to accept it.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “This is a step forward for firefighters and control staff, although it obviously does not resolve all issues.

“These concessions are the direct result of hard work and pressure from firefighters and the FBU.

“While a 4% pay rise will not undo the damage of 14 years of austerity and attacks on pay, it is a real-terms increase.

“Setting the baseline level of maternity pay to 26 weeks on full pay more than doubles the current entitlement, and for the first time in decades, we have won a substantial increase to the retainer paid to on-call firefighters.

“Ultimately, employers know that firefighters are prepared to stand together and enter dispute. We will defend our right to strike tooth and nail against authoritarian attempts to curb it.

“The offer also demonstrates the value of collective bargaining. Unlike sectors with so-called ‘independent’ pay review bodies, we sit down with our employers and negotiate.

“Our advice to members is to accept this offer and fight on. With a change of government on the horizon, we will look to restore funding, pay and jobs to the fire and rescue service, and to win 52 weeks’ full pay maternity leave across the board.

“Our fight for decent pay and conditions for the long term continues.”