Retained firefighters are to resume strike action next week after voting to reject a Labour Court recommendation aimed at resolving a dispute over pay and conditions.
Members of the retained service are part-time firefighters who are paid an annual retainer for being on-call.
The Labour Court had recommended that the retainer be increased by between 24% and 32.7%.
Under the proposals, a firefighter on an annual retainer of €8,870 would see it rise to €11,769.
The main firefighters' union, SIPTU, described the proposals as a major disappointment and members have voted by an overwhelming majority of 82% to 18% to reject the Labour Court recommendation.
"The increases in the modest retainer given to these essential workers may look like something on a percentage basis but, in reality, they are a high percentage of a small amount and will do nothing to attract the numbers of firefighters that are required to address the issues," said SIPTU Divisional Organiser, Karan O Loughlin.
"Given that the pending strike was suspended to allow for the Labour Court intervention, this suspension will now be lifted and the strike will commence at every fire station across the country from Wednesday, 26 July," Ms O Loughlin said.
SIPTU represents around 2,000 retained firefighters across 200 stations around the country.
Members of the retained service engaged in rolling work stoppages last month and had threatened to escalate the action to an all-out strike.
A Labour Court hearing was held on the dispute on 26 June and SIPTU agreed to suspend strike action ahead of the court's recommendation.
The Labour Court also recommended that the size of the retained service be increased by 400 additional firefighters in order to address staff shortages and stated that every urgent effort should be made to fill all current vacancies.
Other recommendations included changes to premium payments, the introduction of community-based fire prevention programmes to allow firefighters earn additional income, and the development of policies on sick leave, maternity leave and parental leave.
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O'Brien had said that the recommendations outlined by the Labour Court would provide for a significant improvement to the work-life balance of retained firefighters.
He added that the proposals would see a cumulative increase for retained firefighter pay in the order of €5,523 to €6,941 per year.
Mr O'Brien has said that he will advocate for a pay increase for members of the retained service in the upcoming public sector pay talks.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said it is disappointed with the decision to reject the Labour Court recommendations.
"The minister has given his assurance that he will be a strong advocate for the retained fire service during the upcoming pay talks, which begin in a matter of weeks, and has been very clear that he wants to see pay and conditions for retained firefighters improved," a spokesperson said.
"The best guarantee for minimising risk and ensuring public safety would be to avoid taking strike action in the first instance and we would encourage the union and its members to rethink their current course of action, to accept the generous offer already on the table and to enter the national pay talks where they can build on the current offer," the Department said.
