Retained firefighters in Tipperary along with their colleagues across the country have resumed their strike action over pay and conditions.
It’s after the SIPTU members voted to reject a Labour Court recommendation.
The union claims county councils have pitted the Irish public against fire crews as they haven’t put an emergency plan in place for the strike.
Ger Morris is Sub Officer at Nenagh Fire Station – speaking on Tipp Today earlier he said the Labour Court proposals just weren’t good enough.
“24% to 32% on firefighters retainer – not their wage – works out at about between €50 and €60 a week. That’s not going to bring more people into the fire service or keep fella’s in the fire service.
“They also said they’d bring on 400 new jobs – we cannot fill the positions we have at the moment. There’s a station in North Tipperary that have 5 – they should have 8 and out of those 5, 3 are officers and two are firefighters. Another station down in the South should have 12 – they have 6. So they have no hope of filling those positions. I don’t know what land they’re living in there.”
Ger Morris says the training provided for those in the service is top class but the structure needs to be changed.
“That’s what we’re looking for. We have fellows up the LGMA – they were never in a car holding someone’s hand and they’re asking you how is my family member in the front when you know that person is deceased but you cannot tell them that. They (LGMA) don’t know that – they’ve never been in a house where someone has burned.
“We’re not looking for medals for doing that. We do that with respect – all we want is to get a good structure that we can work around our jobs, our family life and the fire service.”
