Dublin Fire Brigade vote in favour of strike action

Dublin Fire Brigade workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action over a dispute with senior management in Dublin City Council.

The row is over the council attempting to break up the Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) Emergency Medical Service by outsourcing its ambulance call and dispatch function.

In a ballot in Liberty Hall on February 17th, SIPTU firefighters voted for industrial action by a huge margin, 93 per cent to 7 per cent.

“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,” SIPTU sector organiser Brendan O’Brien said.

John King, from the union’s public administration and community organiser division, added: “What the senior management of Dublin City Council is attempting by seeking to outsource the ambulance call and dispatch function of the DFB Emergency Medical Service would compromise the safety of our members, who deliver this critical lifesaving service, as well as expose the public to increased risk.

“In the coming days, the SIPTU DFB Strike Committee will consider the options available to it and decide upon the next steps in our 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,” King said.

He added: “SIPTU representatives remain available for meaningful engagement with the the senior management of Dublin City Council if it is genuinely interested in finding an acceptable resolution to this long running dispute.”