SIPTU’s retained firefighters have resolved their industrial dispute by voting to accept proposals from the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), following intensive consultation at the Commission, in which an offer of improved terms had been made to end the strike.
SIPTU’s Community Divisional Organiser, Karan O’Loughlin said that the ongoing dispute had 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”. She noted that while the vote ends the current strike, it does not end that battle, noting that the WRC document is the beginning of the next stage for retained firefighters.
SIPTU representatives are now set to write immediately to the employers and to Minister Darragh O’Brien. “We will advise of the acceptance of the document and seek to engage in discussions in respect of the retainer and the rollout of the WRC terms, especially those clauses that relate to recruitment, pay and time off.”
O’Loughlin said that SIPTU now expects that the terms of the WRC document will be delivered in full and in a timely manner. “We also expect that the political commitments in respect of the next movement on the retainer will be delivered in full,” she outlined.
Brendan O’Brien, SIPTU Sector Organiser for the local authority sector, described the retained firefighters as “battle scarred” after many years of struggle over these issues. “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 badly needs.
“The proposal is to be reviewed every six months to ensure that recruitment mechanisms stay on course and the policies are rolled out in good time. Firefighters are to be commended for their steadfast solidarity to each other and their communities during a very difficult dispute. As well as dealing with core pay, the overall proposals provide more value for firefighters and made adjustments for new recruits to assist with the recruitment problem.”
Under the terms of the overall proposals, new recruits will now enter the service with guaranteed minimum earnings of over €18,000, moving to increments faster than is currently the case. In addition, the guaranteed earnings for firefighters with more than eight years of service would be over €21,500.
The agreement of this deal by retained firefighters now means that station officers will have secure minimum earnings of between €27,400 and €31,730. Other relevant conditions in respect to the filling of promotional positions and the hiring of 400 new recruits remain intact, as does the requirement to be available to be reduced from 48 weeks to 24 weeks with an option to be available more frequently on a voluntary basis.
