Q&A: Why are 2,000 firefighters taking industrial action and what is the impact?

Around 2,000 retained firefighters around the country are set to stage a second day of industrial action on Tuesday, with many stations outside of the larger urban centres expected to close.

What is happening?

The mostly part-time workers, who keep the services going outside of Ireland’s larger urban centres, are taking industrial action in a dispute over pay and working conditions. The roughly 1,000 full-time firefighters, who are based mainly in cities, are not involved and are working as normal. Up to half of the roughly 200 fire stations that rely on retained personnel are understood to be closed due to the action.

What is the dispute about?

Those involved, mostly members of Siptu, argue that the system under which they are employed, with pay based on a retainer and then call out fees, despite requirements for around the clock availability, is outdated and taking its toll on a service which is struggling to recruit new members or retain existing ones.

Much of what they are saying was accepted in a report commissioned by Minister for Local government Darragh O’Brien, who had said he would like to see its findings implemented. However, talks broke down when the Local Government Management Association (LGMA) said it was not in a position to make any substantial improvements to overall pay while the current national pay agreement is in force.

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So what happens in affected areas today?

Both the union and LGMA say steps have been taken to ensure that calls involving real emergencies and those where there is a risk to life in particular are responded to.

In a statement, the LGMA said members of the public should continue to call 999 or 112 in the case of an emergency, and that calls will be answered and responded to. Siptu has confirmed it will comply with the provisions of the code of practice on emergency disputes throughout the industrial action. The union says this reflects the professionalism and dedication of its retained fire service personnel to ensuring “services are provided even in a strike situation” and that members will respond to all emergency calls involving life-threatening scenarios.

Siptu says its local committees have taken account of safety considerations when deciding which stations to close. Nevertheless, there is bound to be some impact on services, especially where less urgent calls are involved.

What happens next?

The LGMA has called for the union to return to talks, but Siptu says there is little point if no progress can be made on the issue of pay, meaning none are planned for the moment. If no resolution is found, the firefighters are scheduled to escalate their action to all out strike from next Tuesday with, once again, the proviso that emergency cover will be in place.

The Minister, however, is due to make a statement in the Dáil on Tuesday afternoon during the debate on a Sinn Féin motion on the issue. The union says it has been told to expect Mr O’Brien’s comments to be “positive”.

The hope is that an intervention from Mr O’Brien will, as it did in a separate dispute involving water workers a couple of weeks ago, provide the basis for significant progress. However, the LGMA says it is not in a position to anticipate what might be said and the union says that while it is “hopeful” of progress, it will wait and see what is proposed.