Firefighters to escalate strike action after 'astonishing' silence from Government

Some of the 2,000 retained firefighters across the country who went on strike last month. Stations around the country are already closed 50% of the time because of the refusal by management to agree adequate cover arrangements with firefighters. File picture: Andy Gibson

Firefighters have accused the government of putting lives at risk by allowing a firefighter recruitment and retention crisis to persist, as they escalate strike action.

Part-time fire stations will “go dark” from Saturday at 8am, providing no internal communications other than life-saving information.

If negotiations with management are not resumed, retained firefighters will then begin closing fire stations from next Saturday, August 19, closing one additional station each week in each county.

Stations around the country are already closed 50% of the time because of the refusal by management to agree adequate cover arrangements with firefighters, and because many of them don’t have enough staff to respond to calls, Karan O'Loughlin, Siptu Public Administration and Community Division Organiser, said.

“This situation will now escalate,” she said. “It has been nine weeks since this industrial action commenced and the silence from the Government has been astonishing. It has abandoned the retained fire service, leaving firefighters at the side of the road in an effort to break their dispute."

Gerard O’Donovan, a firefighter at Bantry fire station in West Cork, said government inaction is putting lives at risk.

“Government is putting lives at risk. Their inaction over years has left the fire service decimated. When you have limited crew, everyone has to carry more of the burden.

And when you turn up to an emergency partially staffed, with six crew rather than 10 crew, that’s when accidents happen.

The majority of Ireland’s firefighters are employed on a part-time basis and are paid an annual retainer for being on call with an additional payment made per call-out. Firefighters say that this retainer is too low, it has not kept pace with inflation nor with the increasing demands of the job.

The Labour Court recently recommended a 24% to 32.7% increase in the retainer, bringing a payment of €8,870 up to €11,769. But Siptu members voted overwhelmingly to reject that recommendation.

Mr O’Donovan said that firefighters were “shocked” by the Labour Court figure and said that such a payment was wholly inadequate. “A 33% increase sounds like a lot. But 33% of €8,500 brings it up to €11,500 annually. No one can go to a bank and get a mortgage with that.

“There must be reasonable baseline earnings to recruit and retain firefighters. We get a call-out fee, but that’s like earning tips in a restaurant, it is not reliable. We want to get back to the negotiating table. It has to be a realistic amount.” 

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, has said that although he empathises with the firefighters’ plight, any pay increases must be made through the upcoming public sector pay talks.

Mr O’Donovan said that firefighters would call off industrial action if a “realistic” baseline pay could be agreed in principle by the minister now but arranged later through those talks. “We’ve had promises from the minister but promises are not good enough.

“We need something set in stone. If there was some sort of agreement put on paper as to acceptable baseline pay then we could wait for that to be delivered through the public sector pay talks. If there was an agreement in principal we could call off the strikes.” 

Strikes on Saturday will see firefighters blacking out all communications with management, apart from sharing life-saving information.

If the blackout is not responded to, firefighters will start to close stations, increasing to up to 75% which would “have a big impact,” Mr O'Donovan said.

“No firefighter wants to be in this situation. But the very future of the fire service is in jeopardy,” he said.

Karan O'Loughlin, Siptu Public Administration and Community Division Organiser, said the Government "has abandoned the retained fire service, leaving firefighters at the side of the road in an effort to break their dispute." File photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

A statement from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said that Minister O’Brien notes the statement from Siptu that retained firefighters will escalate their strike action in the coming days. 

"The minister firmly believes that a resolution to this dispute that addresses the issues of recruitment and retention within the retained fire service is possible through an acceptance of the Labour Court recommendation which provides for a substantial improvement in the earnings and conditions of retained firefighters.

"Minister O’Brien is acutely aware of the dedication and commitment retained firefighters show in serving their communities and understands the difficult position in which they find themselves during this period of industrial action. 

"The minister met directly with the Siptu national negotiation committee before this current phase of industrial action commenced, reiterating his assurance that he will advocate strongly for retained firefighters in the upcoming national pay talks, which are due to commence shortly.” 

Of some 3,000 firefighters employed nationally, some 2,000 are retained, part-time firefighters. In Cork, all but the city’s fire stations are operated on a retained part-time service.