Strong support in Roscrea for striking local Firefighters

Firefighters in Roscrea continue to receive the strong support of the local community in their campaign for better pay and resources.

A fourth day of rolling strike action in the retained fire service took place on Tuesday at the 12 stations in County Tipperary.
The union representing retained firefighters have suggested that fire stations have descended into “chaos” that is “putting lives at risk” since the start of their strike.

Members of Roscrea Fire Brigade, pictured above outside the local Fire Station, returned to the picket line following a disappointing ruling by the Labour Court.

“It is a sad reflection on any society where an emergency service is forced to strike but we are determined to do what it takes in our quest for a workable service that is fit for purpose. The lads would like to thank the public for all there support”, they said

Retained firefighters recommenced industrial action on Wednesday after negotiations at the Workplace Relations Commission with local authorities reps (WRC) broke down. SIPTU says fire service management must take sole responsibility for the chaotic scenes seen in fire stations around the country.

The union believes there’s been a general strategy of non-cooperation from management since the start of the dispute.

It claims phone calls are not being answered when firefighters contact the station from the scenes of incidents, and management is not deploying the required number of appliances to them.

“This is putting lives at risk” a Union spokesperson said.