Firefighters in Kerry will go on strike within the next two weeks if their demands on pay and work-life balance are not met.
Retained firefighters in the county represented by SIPTU have served two weeks’ notice to begin industrial action in a dispute over recruitment and retention of firefighters.
Retained firefighters are not full-time employees based in fire stations, but they are paid by local authorities to be on-call to respond to emergencies.
Recruitment issues have left some stations short of firefighters, which means some have not been able to take their entitled leave.
Damian Quigg, acting station officer for Killorglin, was on the negotiations team from the National Retained Firefighters’ Association.
He says they have no work-life balance, and should be paid accordingly.
