Alicante Firefighters' Consortium Meeting with the Provincial Council: "Labour Conflict Worsens"

Continues the tension between the Provincial Council and the Alicante Firefighters' Consortium following an unproductive three-hour meeting held this Monday between union representatives and the President of the Provincial Council, Toni Pérez, and the Emergency Deputy, Francisco Cano.

The Personnel Board of the Alicante Provincial Firefighters' Consortium (CPBA) insists that after this meeting "the situation of the labour conflict has worsened" and describes the management of the meeting as "chaotic", criticising the "lack of coordination among department heads".

Therefore, they announce that "the same measures" already agreed upon will continue, and a demonstration will be called at the doors of the provincial palace during the next plenary session in May. Additionally, they will hold a meeting this Wednesday to see if pressure on the provincial government will be increased.

The Provincial Council has responded to the firefighters' statement, assuring that the consortium "reaffirms its commitment to collective bargaining to reach an agreement" and urges the involved parties to continue participating in the negotiation table.

In this regard, the provincial body explained in a statement that they reject "any pressure measures that seek to disrupt the proper functioning of the negotiation table, especially those related to the cessation of the DOI (operational intervention department), which are unrelated to the working conditions being negotiated."

The Provincial Council defends the intent of the meeting and laments that "some social agents do not prioritise negotiation and dialogue, and we remind that the Consortium has already taken measures to create a favourable dialogue climate."

The Provincial Council's response comes after a statement from the firefighters, criticising a meeting that "has not resulted in any progress in resolving the conflict." They argue that after presenting "the situation in which the Consortium finds itself regarding management problems and deficiencies in providing a quality public emergency service, their response has been to commit to fulfilling the agreements already signed by the various presidents-delegates with the social side."

And they affirm: "The President of the Provincial Council has ignored, despite our insistence, that the problem is not our labour demands or the breach of agreements, but it goes beyond that: the solution to the conflict and the serious problems that existed before the general assembly of workers on March 25 cannot be to attempt the same thing that caused the staff's discontent and, therefore, this situation."

Thus, after this meeting, the Board understands that "the President of the Provincial Council and the president-delegate, far from trying to mediate in the possible solution, want to close the labour conflict without addressing the real problems faced by the Consortium, which would lead to an improvement in the public service" provided by the firefighters. "Therefore, they are from today responsible for the continuation of the conflict," they conclude.