Firefighters in Cork city protest over staff shortages

Firefighters at Anglesea Street fire station in Cork city staged a protest at the end of their shift on Thursday over staff shortages they say are endangering members of the public.

Siptu has described the background to the dispute as “shameful”.

It said the move by its members is the start of a campaign of industrial action, prompted by the closure of the Ballincollig retained fire service due to a shortfall in the number of firefighters required to operate it.

Cork City Council said in June of last year that recruitment of the staff required was a key priority but a number of recruitment efforts failed to address the situation.

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“The root cause of this dispute lies with the failure of fire service management to reinstate the Ballincollig Retained Fire and Rescue Service or provide additional resources to the Cork City Fire Brigade to provide cover in this area, said Siptu organiser Con Casey.

“The consequences of this has been to expand the area covered by the Cork City Fire Brigade without providing staff to operate the fire appliance in Ballincollig fire station, which is known as the ‘Fourth Pump’.

“Vacancies for retained fire and rescue service members in the Ballincollig area have remained unfilled since September 2021 even though the first recruitment campaign commenced in October 2020.

“It is shameful that Cork City Council should force firefighters, who literally put their lives on the line for their communities, into industrial action in this way. Official notice of industrial action, up to and including strike action, was served on Cork City Council earlier this month. If our members must escalate their industrial action to force a resolution to this dispute, they will.”

Responding to the action, Cork City Council said it “is committed to engaging in meaningful and focused discussions with all parties involved and to using the established industrial relations machinery of the State to agree a path forward to resolve matters.

“Management is disappointed that union members have chosen to mount an industrial action when the council had already made itself available for discussions.”