'You can’t make a living from it': Retained firefighters to escalate industrial action
Jonathan Madden, Station Officer at Mallow Fire Station, Co Cork. Picture: David Creedon
When Jonathan Madden’s pager beeped on Sunday morning, he immediately left his breakfast and rushed to the fire station.
Minutes later, he was at a house fire where his crew broke down a door, entered a house through thick smoke and lashing flames, and rescued a man trapped inside, tending to him medically before the ambulance arrived.
That man’s life was saved thanks to Mr Madden and his team’s hard work, professional training, courage, and diligence at Mallow fire station in Cork.
But as retained firefighters at the town’s part-time fire service, they have begun strike action over what they say are impossible pay and conditions.
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. The majority of firefighters in Ireland are retained, with the only full-time fire stations operating in Cork, Dublin, and Galway cities.
Unlike full-time firefighters who are paid a wage and accrue benefits like holiday pay, retained firefighters are paid a retainer of some €8,500 annually to be on-call. They are additionally paid per callout.
Being on call requires them to remain within 2.5km of the fire station at all times so that they can reach it within five minutes, making simple tasks and duties like going to the supermarket or attending a child’s football game impossible for many. And with Ireland at close to full employment (an all-time unemployment low of 3.8% was recorded in May’s Central Statistics Office figures) and what workers say are poor pay and conditions in the fire service, numbers of retained firefighters are dwindling. And low staffing numbers leave those who remain on call and on duty too often, forcing them to miss family holidays, school plays, and family trips.
Some 2,065 retained firefighters at some 201 fire stations began strike action on Tuesday in protest at work conditions and pay.
This week, retained firefighters began a work-to-rule, refusing to attend to extra duties like training drills.
If nothing changes by next week, from Tuesday, June 13, retained firefighters will close 50% of stations where firefighters are employed on a retained basis.
The following week, retained firefighters will go on all-out strike.
Fulltime firefighter with Cork City and Fine Gael local councilor for Ballincollig-Carrigaline, Michael Paul Murtagh said the retainer has not changed in many years while the nature of the job has changed dramatically, with a significant increase in the volume of training expected of retained firefighters.
“There have been no adjustments in the last 20 years to the retainer. Some adjustments are now needed,” he said.
A Retained Fire Service Review compiled by the Department of Housing and Local Government published in November 2022 found that 58% of firefighters surveyed said that they planned to leave the service in the next three years.
Mr Madden, the station officer at Mallow Fire Station, said that this makes him fear the viability of the service in the near future.
“The service is on a spiral downwards. Now, we’re facing a summer wondering if we have enough staff to cope with what we’ll need to cope with," Mr Madden said.
“The only guaranteed income a retained firefighter has is their retainer, which is €8,500 a year. That’s just to be on call. Some stations get 50 calls, some get 100 some get 300 and you’re paid per call.
"The guys in stations with fewer calls have to make the same commitment to being on call but get paid little more than their retainer. You won’t get a mortgage on a retainer.
“Cork has 20 fire stations, some of the best firefighters in the country, it gives a tremendous service 365 days a year. We go to medical calls — only yesterday we responded to a medical call — car crashes, house fires.
“We had a man rescued from a house fire within 10 minutes of getting the call the other Sunday.
“Our job has grown and grown. We have so much training and equipment we’re always called to emergencies because we can overcome the obstacle. We work very closely with our colleagues in the gardaí and ambulance service. No fire station went off service over covid and we have a small staff.
“Mallow should have 12 staff but we only have a staff of nine because you can’t attract people into the job.
“We’re on call 24/7, 365 days a year. It’s like a military operation to plan if you’re going away somewhere. I’ve missed out on a lot of my kids’ soccer matches and GAA matches.
“And we’re up against the multinationals that are paying big money and benefits.
“These lads give a fantastic commitment but you can’t make a living from it.
“If it’s not fixed now I don’t think half of us will be in the job in the future.
“This is the first week of industrial action. Heading into next week, 50% of fire stations may be closed in the country.
“We don’t want to be doing this. I’m in the fire brigade 23 years and this is the first time that we’ve been pushed into the corner by the Government.”
Siptu representatives have called on the government to outline measures that will be taken to keep communities safe when the industrial action escalates in the coming weeks.
SIPTU Public Administration and Community Division Organiser, Karan O Loughlin, said, “Our members in the retained fire service are reporting that, in most counties, management has no specific contingency plans in place and are not undertaking any information campaigns to inform the public of the likely impact of targeted strike action that will commence next Monday (13th June)."
A statement from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said that the department and Minister Darragh O’Brien “are very aware of the challenges with both the recruitment and retention of retained fire personnel” and have produced a review of the service.
The review showed that the work/life balance of retained firefighters needs to be addressed to ensure a career in the retained fire services is an attractive employment option, the Department said.
Although recent talks between the firefighters union SIPTU and the Local Government Management Agency devised a revised model of retained fire service to improve work / life balance for retained firefighters, including structured time off and flexible work arrangements, it is understood that no pay increase was agreed to.
The department said that Mr O’Brien “encourages all parties to continue to engage constructively on resolving the outstanding IR [industrial relations] issues within the established forum".
