Firefighters planning to go on strike

'We're not being looked after' says union shop steward

Westmeath firefighters will begin a campaign of industrial action next week unless their demands for better pay and conditions are met, a union official has warned.

Local retained fire fighters and their colleagues across the country are scheduled to begin a campaign of industrial action on June 6, which will culminate in an all-out strike on June 20 unless the dispute has been resolved.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, shop steward for Westmeath Tony Sheerin said that while firefighters do not want to strike, they feel that they have no choice after discussions with the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) broke down.

There are around 3,000 firefighters nationwide, of whom some 2,000 are employed as retained staff rather than full-time.

The retained firefighters are paid an annual retainer – starting at €8,500 – to be available for callouts and the remainder of their pay is based on the number of callouts they attend.

Retained firefighters can have other employment but their workplaces have to be within 2.5km of their stations. They must also live within 2.5km of their stations and be able to respond, typically, within five minutes.

Mr Sheerin, who has been a retained firefighter for more than 20 years, says that over the last two decades numerous reports have highlighted the need for improved pay and conditions for retained firefighters, but successive governments have failed to provide the necessary funding.

Mr Sheerin says the most recent report, published late last year, called for the current remuneration model “to be taken apart, root and branch, and built again because it is not fit for purpose”.

He says that the retainer for firefighters joining the service is turning young people away from applying for positions.

“You can’t draw these lads in to the service on €8,500. Say on his first week of service, he doesn’t get a call, it works out at around €1 per hour to hang around and give your entire life to the service.

“Also you have no chance of getting a mortgage on that, because it is the only guaranteed wage we have. In smaller rural stations around the country, you have lads who don’t even have enough calls to make up the difference.”

While firefighters can have other jobs, Mr Sheerin says many employers are reluctant to hire retained firefighters, or permit existing employees to join the fire service.

“Most lads don’t [have jobs] because no employer wants a situation where you have an employee walking out the door at the drop of a hat and leaving them in the lurch.

“Nothing against the employer, but very few want staff that they can’t depend on day to day – they could be gone for an hour or gone for a day.”

“What you have is a lot of retained firefighters are on social welfare. Instead of paying them social welfare, give them a proper wage. Keep them in the station. Provide the service people are paying for.”

Mr Sheerin is based at Mullingar Fire Station. It should have 15 retained firefighters, but currently has 14 after someone left last year. Although the position has been advertised, it has not be been possible to fill it due to the lack of interest, he says.

When he joined 20 years ago, more than 100 people applied for the post. He says that the staffing situation is much worse in many stations across the country and that many retained firefighters are unable to take their leave entitlements due to staff shortages.

“You never have a full complement of retained firefighters in the service at any one time. There is always someone who has left, or someone who is sick, or someone who is off for some reason or other.

“Mullingar is down a man at the moment. I think he left last October. We are now coming into June and he has not been replaced. That is us down to 14. If someone else is out sick or on holiday, your numbers drop dramatically very quickly, and it puts a massive strain on everyone else.

“We can go nowhere and do nothing. We have stay within a few minutes of the station. We have to be able to respond as quickly as possible. We drop absolutely everything, night or day.”

The industrial action starts on June 6 with firefighters restricting their work to emergency call responses only. On June 13, rolling work stoppages are scheduled to start. If an agreement has not been reached, an all-out strike will take place on June 20.

Stressing that firefighters are “dedicated to looking after their community”, Mr Sheerin says that they will only resort to an all-out strike as a last resort.

“We are not being looked after. It is going too long. That is why we balloted, and came back overwhelmingly in favour, over 90 per cent, of industrial action. That says everything you need to know.”

Expressing his support for the retained firefighters, Deputy Johnny Guirke of Sinn Féin said the government have meet their demands to avert strike action. “We need to put those firefighters first now, the same way they put our lives first when they rush into situations that put their own lives in danger. “Industrial action is planned for June 6, but I think we have time to save this before it goes that far. We need to see all parties including the government, county councils and Fire Services, sitting in a room and talking, and coming up with a resolution that suits everyone.”