Alarm bells ring over firefighters’ holiday pay claim

CLARE County Council could face a holiday back-pay bill that could run to as much as €500,000, for its existing and retired firefighters, dating back to 1999.

Clare firefighters have claimed the exact figure owed by the council will not be known until the alleged miscalculations have been determined.
The firefighters have threatened to take legal action against the council unless the authority fulfils its obligations concerning holiday pay.
While county councillors approved the 2012 Budget Estimates without a vote on Tuesday evening, this latest crux looks set to present a financial headache for council officials next year.
The council is facing the prospect of a double body blow from Clare firefighters, who have also secured approval to ballot for industrial action on an unrelated issue concerning the provision of a second sub-station officer’s post at the expense of their long standing drive/mechanic position.
The Clare Champion has learned Ennis solicitor John Casey sent a letter to Clare County Council on behalf of firemen in Ennis and Ennistymon last week, threatening legal action unless the holiday pay allegedly owed to them is paid in the near future.
There are currently 78 firefighters in the Clare Fire ­Department and this issue could also affect another 50 or 60 or more retired firefighters and those on leave of absences.
While there is no definitive estimate of the likely bill, it is expected to run into hundreds of thousands of euro.
Taking a conservative figure of an average payout of €3,000 per fire-fighter, the final bill could range between €300,000 and €500,000 if the miscalculation was in advertently implemented across the board.
Taking holidays wasn’t always actively encouraged in the fire service due to staffing shortages in a number of fire stations, particularly the smaller ones, which meant that firefighters didn’t always avail of their allocated annual leave, according to a source who does not wish to be named.
The Clare  Champion understands the terms of reference for a forthcoming Labour Relations Commission hearing between both parties have to be agreed before the council can start the process of making an accurate assessment of the possible final bill.
An offer of a retrospective payment for the last 18 months was turned down by firemen, the Champion has learned.
A new agreement, which came into effect in 1999, introduced a higher payment for holidays, which it is alleged was not administered properly for people in the fire service.
Under the agreement, a fire person is supposed to receive 8% of their net pay as holiday pay. This figure is calculated following the deduction from their gross pay of their annual retainer and a clothing allowance of about €130.
A council spokesman said the authority was surprised and disappointed that the threat of legal action was being brought into the public domain by firefighters when, in late November, a conciliation conference was agreed between both parties for January 31 next under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). He said it would be inappropriate and premature for the council to comment on this matter in advance of this hearing.
It remains to be seen whether Clare firefighters will engage with this process following their strong dissatisfaction over a previous LRC ruling.
The average payment to Clare firefighters over the past year was in the region of €29,000. While sub-station and station officers are paid considerably more than firemen, they are on the same hourly rate as firefighters.
A local SIPTU shop steward declined to comment on the issue and directed all queries to John Casey, who stressed he is not going to talk about the matter.
According to figures presented in the council’s 2012 Draft Budget, there doesn’t appear to be any provision  for this possible cost being incurred by the authority next year.
The budget for the operation of the Clare Fire Brigade Service will drop from €3,826,000 in 2011 to €3,694,483 in 2012, while service support costs will drop from €666,713 to €649,316 for safety of structures and places over the same period.
The service support costs for the operation of the fire service will increase from €373,185 in 2011 to €386,450 next year.