SIPTU Firefighters have overwhelmingly voted in favour of taking industrial and strike action in a dispute resulting from an attempt by senior management in Dublin City Council to outsource the Emergency Medical Service ambulance call and dispatch function at Dublin Fire Brigade.
SIPTU Firefighters voted by 93% to 7% in favour of strike action and 97% to 3% in favour of industrial action.
Brendan O’Brien, SIPTU Sector Organiser said: “Our members have given an emphatic mandate to the SIPTU DFB Strike Committee to take whatever industrial measures are required to resist the attempts to break-up the Emergency Medical Service.”
Firefighters from Dublin Fire Brigade have been expressing their own view on their personal facebook pages while Councillor Christy Burke, former Mayor of Dublin City has initiated a petition, calling for support for Dublin Fire Brigade. In a statement on social media, Cllr Burke said “Let me make this very clear, they administrate our country they don’t own it. The country belongs to the people not out administration. I’m going to print and hand the petition to the senior management and to the Taoiseach’s office at Leinster House. I’m sorry, but this is not the bin or water charges, it’s people’s lives and I’ll not stand by and watch this happen.”
Photo: Cllr Christy Burke speaking to a Dublin Firefighter recently
Pic: (Cllr Christy Burke facebook page)
The Dublin Fire Brigade SIPTU Strike Committee will consider the options available to it in the coming days and decide upon the next steps in their campaign to retain the DFB Emergency Medical Service as a fully functioning operation capable of delivering the best service possible to the residents of Dublin. SIPTU has said its representatives will remain available for meaningful engagement with the senior management of Dublin City Council if it is interested in finding an acceptable resolution to this long running dispute.
