The proposal to update the model of volunteer firefighters formulated by the Generalitat will continue to be debated in September. The representatives of the collective, both the Federation of Voluntary Firefighters of Catalonia (FBVCat) and the Association of Voluntary Firefighters of Catalonia (Asbovoca) have shown their frontal opposition to the document that was debated yesterday in the Council of Volunteer Firefighters. Although the two entities gave the impression that the Department would approve its own proposal yesterday, after more than three hours of meeting it was agreed to continue the discussion in a next meeting scheduled for September.
According to the Department of the Interior, its approval was not scheduled yesterday, but its exhibition. “There has been an exchange of impressions, the general management has listened to the voice of the volunteer firefighters but there has not been time to discuss everything,” explain sources from the ministry. Tempers are on. The associations that represent the group demand a reconversion of volunteer firefighters to permanent labor personnel, “providing them with the maximum guarantees and conditions, like those of fellow officials,” maintains the FBVCat. They also disagree with other aspects proposed by the new model.
In the Council, seven representatives of volunteer firefighters who correspond to the seven emergency regions and seven heads of region appointed by the General Directorate of Fire Prevention, Extinction and Rescue (DGPEIS) have a vote. To these fourteen votes is added that of the director general of prevention who is the one who has the tiebreaker in his hand. With this structure, the department could carry out its proposal even if all the representatives of the volunteer firefighters in the Consell opposed it.
However, yesterday after the long meeting, the CEO decided to continue discussing the new management model at a future meeting, after the summer. Both the FBVCat and Asbovocat had warned that the group would begin mobilizations if the proposal was approved as it was presented at the penultimate meeting of the Council, on June 14, and that they thought it would be approved yesterday.
Currently the collective of volunteer firefighters has 1,817 troops, the new model proposes the incorporation of 753 more volunteers, but the collective claims a contractual relationship to ensure the same coverage as civil servant firefighters.
