Stalemate in the Labour Dispute of Alicante's Provincial Firefighters

The personnel board of the Alicante Provincial Firefighters Consortium (CPBA) stated on Tuesday that the existing labour dispute within the force, for which they are demanding "improvements" in management, "remains practically at the initial point of 68 days ago" after "three meetings in the last two weeks" with the Provincial Council.

"From the proposal presented at the beginning of April, the most important points still lack the necessary studies for their feasibility. Once again, the administration's lack of interest in resolving the conflict has been noted," they pointed out in a statement.

The board made these statements after holding a new meeting on Monday with the provincial deputy for Emergencies, Francisco Cano, and they assert that "given the limited progress," their delegates will attend the Provincial Council's plenary session scheduled for this Wednesday to try to meet with the institution's president, Toni Pérez, "if possible, on the same day." Additionally, they have called for a demonstration in Benidorm on June 12.

"We continue visiting the mayors of the various municipalities that will be affected if, due to the lack of agreement, there are difficulties in carrying out the summer shifts as in previous years. We have also informed them of the daily incidents occurring in almost all the province's stations regarding the number of personnel, lack of middle management, and station closures that have been happening since the conflict began," they remarked.

In this context, the board affirms that "since last Friday, incidents have multiplied, auxiliary stations have been one staff member short, and in almost all the province's stations, for hours, they have been below the established minimums and lacking middle management."

"This situation, which has been occurring since the conflict began and of which we are informing the political leaders, highlights the irresponsibility of the service managers who are fully aware of the situation and intend to convey to both the public and political leaders a sense of apparent normality when, in reality, the safety of the citizens of the province of Alicante and the firefighters themselves attending various interventions is being reduced," the board concluded.