Promise of future support by minister not enough to end firefighters’ dispute

A commitment by the Minister for Housing and Local Government to support the case for retained firefighters to be favourably treated in this year’s public sector pay talks is not enough to resolve the current dispute, Siptu has said.

The union was reacting to comments made by Darragh O’Brien in the Dáil where he said agreement could be reached on issues like rostering, staffing levels and promotional opportunities if talks between management and promotional opportunities were restarted this week.

The question of pay, he said, would have to dealt with as part of this year’s talks on a new public sector agreement but he would be “a strong advocate for and champion of the firefighters” around those talks. He added that a number of Government colleagues had indicated their “broad support” for action on the terms and conditions of the roughly 2,000 workers who took were involved in industrial action on Tuesday that closed almost half the country’s fire stations outside of the bigger urban centres.

The firefighters involved are due to start all out-strike action from next Tuesday.

The Minister said he had commissioned the Coyne report on the retained firefighter service itself and the terms and conditions of those employed in it and wanted to see its findings implemented. But, he said, “the rates of pay for public sector employees are set by collective agreements that are put in place to ensure that public sector pay is managed sustainably and in a climate of industrial peace.

“In practice, this means that despite what I or union representatives might like to see as the ideal scenario, it’s not within our gift to make an exception. That type of selectivity would completely unravel the collective approach that has served us well.

“However, it is very clear to me that the issue of the fixed element of retained firefighter remuneration needs to be addressed to meet the legitimate needs of firefighters. And in good faith here this evening, I want to state as clearly and as simply as possible, my personal commitment to ensuring that the retainer payment is positively dealt with within the upcoming national pay talks.”

The Minister’s comments were widely criticised by opposition TDs as they discussed a Sinn Féin motion and Government counter motion on the dispute.

Eoin Ó Broin concluded the discussion by saying that in a speech Siptu said it had been led to believe would be regarded as positive, Mr O’Brien had not only failed to make things better, he had made things worse.

Siptu’s Karan O Loughlin said the union would wait for a letter the Minister said he would be sending to extend an invitation to resume talks in the hope that it might contain some fresh initiative but that talks which were incapable of leading to a resolution had the potential to be counterproductive and the dispute could not be resolved without the issue of pay being addressed.

“The report is very clear,” she said. “Something needs to be done on the retainer.”

Asked about Mr O’Brien’s commitment to support the issue being adequately addressed in the context of the wider public sector pay talks, she said: “None of it amounts to a pathway for the resolution of this dispute. The dispute is now and the talks are in the future. And there will be many, many groups from different parts of the public service vying for attention during those talks, so it’s hard to see how you can carve out a special place for any one group of workers. That’s very difficult.

“So while we appreciate his commitment, he needs to do more; he needs to engage more with Paschal Donohoe and between them, they need to find the money that is required to support the implementation of the Coyne report.”