Labour Dispute Among Alicante Provincial Firefighters

'Fire' at the Alicante Provincial Firefighters Consortium. The Staff Board of the force has urgently requested a meeting with the president of the provincial body, Toni Pérez, to address what they consider a 'chaos' in the consortium's management and a 'lack of coordination' between departments.

The workers' representative body convened a general assembly this Tuesday, attended by around 300 workers, plus a hundred who participated online, to agree on pressure measures and mobilisations for upcoming dates — which have yet to be finalised.

In a statement, the Board directly points to the heads of some departments of the Consortium, accusing them of 'putting spokes in the wheel', hindering its management. They also highlight the 'poor management' of the Operational Interventions Department (DOI), which has been the trigger for the start of this conflict.

The document lists five points of conflict: the 'poor management' during the DANA catastrophe, where mobilisation 'was late and insufficient'; the 'non-compliance' with minimums by category 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; the distribution of staff by zones, and 'oversizing' of senior positions; the 'unilateral breach of agreements reached with the social part; and the 'lack of time control' for senior officials and the use of official vehicles 'for personal purposes'.

Regarding some of these statements, the provincial institution issued a statement a few days ago assuring that 'there are no staff cuts being carried out nor are minimum services being implemented'.

The Emergency Deputy, Francisco Cano, highlighted 'the effort' made by the Provincial Firefighters Consortium to pay the owed overtime to its workers, within the framework of ongoing union negotiations. In this regard, he reported that a contribution of 1.2 million euros has already been made, representing 75% of the total outstanding.

In addition to fulfilling payments, 'we have intensified our efforts to reduce overtime, considering it a management anomaly, with the aim of making this debt reduction truly effective,' he pointed out.

Furthermore, from next April, the incorporation of 30 more newly recruited firefighters is expected, 'demonstrating the Consortium's effort and expansion of staff in the face of accusations of cuts,' he concluded.