BRITISH GAS engineers will complete their five-day strike action today, with no sign of a breakthrough in the dispute over pay and conditions.

Members of the GMB union walked out last Thursday and have been mounting socially distanced picket lines across Britain after being “provoked” into taking industrial action.

British Gas owner Centrica said it had contingency plans and was prioritising vulnerable households and emergencies.

GMB national officer Justin Bowden said: “The only way for profitable British Gas to end this massive disruption it is provoking for their customers in the bleak midwinter is to take its outrageous ‘fire and rehire’ threat off the table.

“Instead of lashing out at its own workforce, who overwhelmingly rejected this plan and voted to take strike action, the company should look closer to home — stop threatening to fire the entire engineer workforce and enter constructive discussions with GMB.”

A Centrica spokesman said it had done “everything it can” to avoid industrial action but the GMB leadership “seems intent on causing disruption.”

Centrica said it had lost too many customers and jobs in recent years, adding that it was trying to protect jobs.