The staff at all 12 of Tipperary’s fire stations are resuming strike action today. Retained firefighters are to place pickets on their fire stations after rejecting a labour court offer. Under the proposals, a firefighter on an annual retainer of €8,870 would see it rise to €11,769. The retainer is the only part of a fire fighter’s income that is guaranteed and the Union says it needs to be increased to a figure that reflects the nature of the work and to attract more employees into the service.
The firefighters’ union, SIPTU, and local fire fighters describe the proposals as a major disappointment. The government had urged the fire fighters to accept the proposal on the basis that the next public sector pay deal to be negotiated in the autumn could bring additional pay increases.
The service is currently suffering from a recruitment and retention crisis with many stations reporting a shortage of personnel. SIPTU has accused local authorities of refusing to agree an emergency cover plan for the strike action. SIPTU represents around 2,000 retained firefighters across 200 stations around the country.
The public are advised to continue to call 999 or 112 in the case of any emergency.
