Firefighters threaten strike over lack of consultation

UP to 2,000 of the country’s full-time firefighters may be balloted for industrial action over the failure by fire chiefs to consult with union leaders on a new industry committee.

The Government has launched a new National Fire and Emergency Committee to look at how the fire service is operated.

However, according to John Kidd, national secretary of SIPTU’s full-time Fire Fighters Committee, his members are refusing to attend the new committee because they feel it will not satisfactorily address safety concerns in the industry and secondly because they and the public are not being given enough representation on the committee.

“We believe health and safety is a primary responsibility for any committee to be kept informed on in any review,” Mr Kidd said.

“At the minute health and safety for firefighters is a joke. We see approximately 90 injuries in Dublin every year alone.

“We also believe that as stakeholders we were not given the terms of reference. We believe we should have more than one position and that the public should also be given a chance to play a role in shaping a service which is for them.”

He said the union suspects it has not been given a bigger role on the committee because it would ask searching questions on how the service is operated.

“We are not happy. We have already said the fire service has to change. There has to be national standards in a national service or at least a regional service.

“There is no point in having to go to these committees. If they do not address the issues they are a waste of money. Instead grasp the nettle and introduce one service like there is one gardaí, one ambulance service. At present we have 37 chiefs and over 100 assistant chiefs.”

The union’s national committee is due to meet in Cork on Thursday and at that point it will decide what, if any, industrial action it is prepared to take to get its grievances addressed. A national day of action has not been ruled out.