“A wave” of retained firefighters have been denied social welfare amid ongoing industrial action over retainer fees and conditions, causing Siptu to question whether it is a deliberate approach by the Government in order to bring an end to the strike.
The union's divisional organiser Karan O’Loughlin told RTÉ radio’s Today show that many retained firefighters in the social protection system have been contacted by their local offices to come in and renew their claim.
“When they come in to renew their claim, then systematically they're being refused,” she added.
“They're being told it's because they're engaged in industrial action and there doesn't seem to be on the understanding that their firefighter job is an issue, and the fact that they're involved in industrial action doesn't impede anything else that they might be doing, and the social protection people are refusing to accept that,” Ms O'Loughlin said.
She explained there is no guarantee of work for firefighters outside the two hours of drills and training that they do every week.
“Other than that, they just have to be available 24/7 to respond to calls when their beepers go off.
“So if the social protection people are putting them under pressure to take up other full time work, then those employers are not going to release them for this work, so then they have to leave the retained service.
“Given that our dispute is about the fact that we can't recruit and retain people, it seems really counterproductive to me,” she added.
Contracts
Under the terms of their contracts, retained firefighters have to live within 2km of their station and within a five-minute response time, which means they have to work within a five-minute travel time to the fire station.
“Forty years ago, when the system was designed, employers were a bit more benevolent. It was easier to let people go (on a call), but employers just don't want to do it anymore, including the local authorities.
“Local authorities have stopped hiring people who are in the retained service. Only 7 per cent of firefighters have jobs with local authorities, and that needs to change as well.”
Ms O’Loughlin said she had no option other than to believe that the denial of social welfare was “a deliberate plan by the Government to try and break the strike”.
“There's no other explanation for all of this to have happened at the same time,” she said.
“They're targeting the most vulnerable families and that's unacceptable at a time when people will be getting ready to get their children back to school.
“There's also a problem developed recently with the back to school allowance as well, so all of this is really underhanded and unacceptable tactics to target the most vulnerable group within the firefighter section and the needs of staff now.
“The Minister [for Social Protection] needs to clarify that this is not the intention and that people won't be targeted in this way,” Ms O'Loughlin said.
She noted the Minister’s office has acknowledged the problem and had indicated they would clarify the situation, however, she added this was yet to happen.
“We need this problem resolved. This is an actual bread and butter issue. If people are not going to get paid, they're not going to feed their families or get their children ready to go back to school in a few weeks.”
Ms O’Loughlin called on the Department of Social Protection to offer direction to social protection officers, who have a lot of latitude to make decisions.
If it emerges that the decision to withhold social welfare came about via instruction from the department, then Siptu will “certainly have to look at the legal position”, she said.
