A GROUP of Clare firefighters have voted in favour of proposed industrial action in a dispute over pay and working conditions.
While the final result of the ballot for industrial action in Clare hasn’t been made public, SIPTU Sectoral Organiser, Brendan O’Brien told the Clare Champion members in the retained fire service have voted “strongly in favour” of taking some form of industrial action.
Mr O’Brien said the union hadn’t received any meaningful proposals to resolve this dispute from the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) or engagement from Clare County Council, apart from an acknowledgement letter.
Having referred this matter to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and dealt directly with employers, Mr O’Brien said the union had to ballot its members for industrial action.
Despite a number of recent recruitment drives by Clare County Council, Mr O’Brien claimed they had attracted very few new applicants in some cases because the overall package is not attractive enough for new entrants.
Acknowledging retained firefighters are paid a retainer, Mr O’Brien pointed out some of them find it very difficult to get a mortgage because some of their pay is based largely on the number of call outs they participate in.
With some firemen finding it difficult to get time off due to a lack of adequate cover, he stressed new measures are necessary to protect the integrity and safety of the service for its members and the public.
Fears are growing the Clare Fire and Rescue Service could be severely disrupted over the coming weeks unless serious efforts are made to address the “recruitment and retention crisis” affecting the local Retained Fire Service.
SIPTU has confirmed it remains available to “seek an agreed solution to this dispute”.
In a letter to Chief Executive, Pat Dowling dated October 12, SIPTU stated as a result of the failure “and/or refusal of management represented by the LGMA to honour its commitment to make proposals to address the long standing issues giving rise to the recruitment and retention crisis affecting the Retained Fire Service in the county “our members are in dispute with your organisation”.
“You will be aware, our members have sought to progress the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in the retained service through the established Fire Services National Oversight and implementation Group (FSNOIG) Retained Division.”
“We are now at a stage where despite having repeatedly sought to address this issue through the agreed channels, management has failed to table any meaningful proposals, despite making a commitment to do so, in order to address the recruitment and retention crisis affecting the Retained Fire Service.”
In a recent letter to SIPTU, LGMA assistant chief executive, Eamonn Hunt expressed surprise at this correspondence.
“As your will be aware, we have engaged extensively with staff and with the union side at the FSNOIG in relation to the review of the retained fire service.
“The review is well advanced and, as you will no doubt be aware, the issues raised by the review are complex and will require full examination by all parties before further detailed discussion can be progressed.
“We are, as we have previously stated, committed to engaging with the union side on this and have asked for submissions from SIPTU.
“Given the broad range of issues that have been identified, it had been expected that a more detailed response with possible solutions would be received from the staff side rather than a response, which was focused on “fixed income and structured time off”.
Mr Hunt described the proposed ballot as “precipitative and unhelpful”. “As you are aware, the FSNOIG was established at the request of SIPTU and, as SIPTU declared at the time, “The establishment of FSNOIG now provides an agreed means by which our members in both the full time and retained fire services will have full participation in the future development of a modern, effective and efficient fire and rescue service.”
“We have previously advised at the FSNOIG that we are satisfied to engage in the review of the retained fire services, however, in our view, the recent correspondence by SIPTU does not support the FSNOIG process.
“As you are aware, the provisions of the current public service agreement Building Momentum confirms that the parties agree that there will be no cost increasing claims for improvements in pay or conditions of employment by trade unions, or employees, during the period of the agreement.
“You will further be aware that the Building Momentum agreement specifically precludes industrial action by those parties and, where such a union fails to adhere to the provisions of the agreement, the benefits of the agreement will not apply to the relevant staff cohort thereafter.
“We remain fully committed to engagement on the review of the retained fire service and we trust that SIPTU will commit to same,” Mr Hunt outlined.
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.