Strike action by teachers and civil servants is unlikely to follow the latest temporary deal signed by firefighters, according to their union representatives.

There had been fears that other States employees would copy the airport firefighters if they had any grievance following the success of its industrial action.

Airport firefighters were each paid £4,000 by the Public Services Department to ensure the airport remained open for the next 12 months following a breakdown in negotiations with the Public Sector Remuneration Committee.

The intervention by PSD, along with Chief Minister Lyndon Trott (pictured), who helped broker the deal, and members of the Emergency Powers Authority, led to concerns that the States had put itself in an impossible situation for future negotiations with other employees because it backed down when the firefighters closed down the airport.

But Frank Allen, national secretary for Prospect, which represents civil servants, said the intervention was necessary in this case and would not make future negotiations more difficult for the States.

‘At the end of the day, the chief minister had the balls to get involved to sort out something that no one else was,’ he said. ‘The question is whether we will be jumping on the bandwagon and demanding more money? The answer is “No, we will not”.’