'Quite a lot' of firefighters interested in new pay deal

A SPOKESMAN for retained firefighters in Mayo has said many firefighters are interested in accepting a new pay deal following several weeks of strike action.

The county’s 120-strong force of retained firefighters suspended industrial action last Wednesday following 12 hours of talks between union SIPTU and the Local Government Management Agency.

Under the proposed deal, new recruits into the retained fire service will earn a minimum of €18,000, as well as guaranteed earnings of €21,500 after eight years of service.

If agreed, station officers will have minimum earnings of between €27,400 and €31,730. Other conditions include the hiring of 400 new recruits remain intact, and the reduction of a requirement to be available for 48 weeks to 24 weeks.

A document will now be drawn up by the Workplace Relations Commission, which will then be presented to SIPTU members.

Firefighters across the country had been engaged in industrial action after demands for improved pay and conditions were not met.

Retained firefighters currently earn a €8,500 retainer plus additional income for each call and must be within 2 kilometres of their station at all times – except when on annual leave.

The latest round of industrial action included the closure of half the county’s fire stations and the near total suspension of communications between stations.

Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday (Monday) Tom Ketterick, chairman of the NRFA’s national negotiating team, said that many firefighters appeared willing to accept the latest offer.

“My sense is that quite a lot of them are interested in this at the moment. They are going into pay talks in good faith with the hope to going back into substantial talks to really progress a new model within the fire service, to get the kind of model we are into,” he said.

The county’s fire service has continued to respond to life-threatening situations throughout the dispute, with crew frequently responding to calls outside their area.

Mr Ketterick has refused to rule out the potential reemergence of strike action if firefighters reject the latest deal.

“The whole thing has been very difficult, we just found our backs to the wall and we have to take a stance on it or we would have no fire service,” he said.

“The saving of the fire service is the main objective of it and we’re still in that process. The deal we did last week won’t save the fire service, but it will put us in a place if we do accept it to have industrial peace to accepting a new model.”

Mayo TD Alan Dillon has welcomed the new deal for retained firefighters.

“Having had the opportunity of meeting with some of these firefighters alongside the Taoiseach in Castlebar and Glencorrib, I gained an insight into the gravity of the situations faced by our local service. The commitment and sacrifice exhibited by these individuals, who put their lives on the line for our safety, are truly commendable,” stated the Fine Gael TD.

Half of Mayo’s 12 fire stations had been closed at any given time as part of the recent escalations. This frequently resulted in crew from various stations calling to life-threatening situations outside of their area.