Firefighters approaching WRC talks with caution, says union

Firefighters are approaching talks in the Workplace Relations Commission today with caution and there is no guarantee of a constructive outcome, Siptu divisional organiser Karan O Loughlin has said.

The union, she said, is happy to engage again after the rejection by its members last month of Labour Court proposals aimed at resolving the dispute but is waiting to see what new proposals the Local Government Management Association or Department of Housing might make on key issues including guaranteed pay.

About 2,000 retained firefighters around the country are involved in the dispute, which centres on their demands for improved recruitment and retention and their rostered time off as well as remuneration.

The workers are technically part-time and are permitted to hold other jobs. In many cases, however, they are on call 24/7, except for when they are on annual leave. Retained firefighters are paid between €8,000 and €12,000 and then on the basis of attendance for training or call-outs.

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Ms O Loughlin said it would only become clear after the talks get under way early on Wednesday afternoon whether there is any basis for progress but that the firefighters themselves are keen to find a resolution.

“The fact that the Minister [Darragh O’Brien] has written to us asking for the new talks suggests a willingness to engage but how far that willingness goes we will have to wait and see.”

Earlier, speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms O Loughlin said guaranteed pay remained the main issue. The earnings of the majority of retained firefighters were precarious, she said and their earnings needed to “move from the precarious column to the guaranteed column”.

She said the firefighters were frustrated by the way the dispute has dragged on and suggested the fire at a McDonald’s in Newbridge had underlined the way in which the workers’ continued willingness to provide emergency cover tended to minimise the obvious impact of the strike.

“This is the dilemma for them. It’s very difficult to prosecute the dispute. Some of the units that responded would have been off the run (the stations were closed due to the strike) yesterday, but obviously they still responded because of the nature of the incident.

“That’s the nature of the work, they have to keep providing cover, and even squeezing the cover in the way that we have really has allowed the Government to roll the dice in a very significant way that the firefighters didn’t anticipate. So this is the difficulty of having a dispute in the essential services,” Ms O Loughlin said.