Tipperary and Waterford retained firefighters to begin strike action on Thursday

Retained firefighters in Tipperary and Waterford are seeking "structured and predictable ‘off-call’ times, rather than — as is currently the reality — operating on a 24/7 basis".

Retained firefighters in Tipperary and Waterford are to take a further two days of strike action, beginning on Thursday.

The strike is an escalation in the industrial dispute between the retained firefighters and local authorities in recent months. Unite says firefighters have seen retainers and call-out fees "frozen for years".

They are also seeking "structured and predictable ‘off-call’ times, rather than — as is currently the reality — operating on a 24/7 basis".

Ahead of the strike action, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham expressed her support for the firefighters saying: "Retained firefighters perform a vital role for the whole community and face considerable risks in the performance of their duties.

These are frontline and essential workers but they have been taken for granted for too long.

"The disrespect shown to these frontline workers is demonstrated by the continued refusal of the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) — that acts as representative of their employers — to engage with their trade union, Unite. They need to come to the table to resolve this dispute.” 

Unite's Susan Fitzgerald will join striking workers at picket lines outside Carrick-on-Suir Fire Station at 10am on Thursday.

She said: "Our members working as Retained Firefighters seek improvements on pay, more predictability of working time and more flexibility on home location.

"The LGMA needs to sit down with Unite and the workers to resolve this dispute. In the absence of any positive response, it leaves our members with no other option but to escalate the industrial dispute with a further two-day strike action.

"We call on all workers to respect our members’ picket lines and to support their collective right to trade union representation of their choice."