Opinion: Firefighters’ dispute must be solved now

Scrolling through the archives of The Anglo-Celt or a search of our website throws up countless real-life examples of the work that retained firefighters do across our county, day in and day out, at all times of the day and night, and often in challenging conditions.

They are often the first on the scene of serious road traffic accidents, the men and women putting their lives on the line to tackle house fires or forest fires, or indeed at other emergency situations such as drowning incidents. And who could forget their input during the recent pandemic and lockdowns? They do all this while on call 24 hours a day for a minimum of 48 hours for 48 weeks of the year with one spokesperson saying, at times, their pay equates to 99c an hour.

When people hear of certain professions going out ‘on strike’, there can be a certain element of ‘more people jumping on the band wagon’.

There are many different jobs that come with an ‘on-call’ element but few that compare to the role of a retained firefighter.

Firefighters when ‘on-call’ must stay within 2.5km of their base, that is the fire station they are assigned to. That seriously limits what they can do or where they can go during that time. For example, they can’t exactly take the lead on childcare as it wouldn’t be appropriate to have a child on board if they were attending an emergency.

Furthermore, while most work other jobs to supplement their income, they are also seriously limited in their other career options and potential earnings. They have to remain within that 2.5km limit and if their beeper or pager goes off, they have to drop all and go. That takes a very understanding employer.

And, of course, most fire stations are located in the main towns and village. That means firefighters’ options for purchasing or renting residential properties are also limited and, most likely, more expensive considering they must live within the environs of the town or village.

Add to that not being able to enjoy social occasions, never being switched off and regularly having to drop everything and go in a hurry or panic. And then there is the emotional/mental impact of attending sometimes horrific scenes where victims have incurred serious injuries or passed away.

It’s a tough job. It’s no surprise, in many ways, that local authorities have had such difficulty recruiting retained firefighters meaning those left on duty are under increasing pressure all the time.

It’s unfortunate that these men and women have had to resort to strike action this week and it’s alarming to think that fire stations, such as Cavan Town for example, will be closed this Saturday and Sunday – a time when road traffic accidents are more likely.

The closest open fire station will pick up the call in the event of an emergency but it shouldn’t have come to strike action and let’s all pray there is no major emergency or crisis in the coming days and weeks until the situation is resolved. Of course, knowing these men and women, if push comes to shove, and an emergency occurs, one expects they will jump into action regardless of the official strike.

Firefighters say they have been left with no choice but to take industrial action due to the crisis in recruiting and retaining staff because of the lack of work/life balance and poor pay. The industrial action follows the break-down of talks between SIPTU and the Local Government Management Agency.

Acting Cavan union representative, Cian Donohoe, told the Celt this week that the last thing he and his co-workers want to do is strike but they felt they were left with no choice.

“What we’re looking for is simple enough – a work-life balance, set time off, and a set wage,” he said.

It seems simple enough indeed.

And it looks like a sit-down may indeed happen after SIPTU representatives received a phone call from representatives of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien in recent days. The Minister’s representatives expressed concern over the possible impact of the dispute on emergency services. They also informed the union that the minister will deliver ‘a positive statement’ in relation to the dispute in a Dáil debate on the matter tomorrow.”

The people of Cavan know the value of the work carried out by their retained local fire crews and, should an emergency occur during this strike period where lives and property are left at risk because of this impasse, they will know where to direct their anger.