Retained firefighters accept proposals to resolve industrial dispute

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. 

Retained firefighters have voted to accept proposals from the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to resolve their industrial dispute, according to trade union Siptu. 

Following a two-month long industrial action carried out by some 2,000 part-time firefighters over staffing numbers and pay, an intensive consultation and a secret ballot carried out last week led to the decision on Tuesday. 

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. 

However, firefighters had said that this retainer was too low and has not kept pace with inflation nor with the increasing demands of the job. They also said that stations are staffed at "dangerously low levels" of crews on call-outs.

On Tuesday, Siptu Divisional Organiser Karan O'Loughlin said while "today's vote ends the current strike, it does not end that battle". 

Siptu Divisional Organiser Karan O'Loughlin said: "This has been a protracted battle to bring the poor terms and conditions for retained firefighters into the public domain and to begin the process of rebuilding the Retained Fire Service." Picture: Leah Farrell

"This has been a protracted battle to bring the poor terms and conditions for retained firefighters into the public domain and to begin the process of rebuilding the Retained Fire Service," Ms O'Loughlin said in a statement. 

"The WRC document is the beginning of the next stage for the Retained Fire Fighters. Siptu representatives will be writing immediately to the employers and to the minister. 

"We will advise of the acceptance of the document and seek to engage in discussions in respect of the retainer and the roll-out of the WRC terms, especially those clauses that relate to recruitment, pay and time off."

Siptu Sector Organiser for the Local Authority Sector, Brendan O'Brien, said that "while the WRC document does not deliver a cure for all that ails the Retained Fire Service, it has created a path forward to commence the transformation that the service needs".

"Firefighters are to be commended for their steadfast solidarity to each other and to their communities during this very difficult dispute," he added.