The department is committed to recruiting around thirty more firefighters, out of the sixty already scheduled. A “half-hearted” compromise for the unions, who are hoping for at least 150 hires.
Le Figaro Nantes
A concession obtained after a hard struggle. After months of mobilization, punchy actions and after even besieging, in December, the president of the department, the inter-union of Loire-Atlantique firefighters signed an agreement on Thursday relating to the creation of 100 new positions of agents over the next five years. This round figure, a third less than the request for 150 additional agents by the unions, is the result of a compromise, matured at length during negotiations based on the 67 position openings initially envisaged by the department.
“Following the adoption of the 100 million euro investment program by 2028, the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (SDIS) of Loire-Atlantique is giving itself the means to ensure your safety”, soberly commented the president of the department Michel Ménard (PS) on the social network X, on June 27. After ten months of mobilization of the firefighters, the elected official agreed to this additional effort despite the tense financial context of his territory.
“We will remain tenacious”
“It’s not bad, but it remains a mixed victory,” shade for Le Figaro Véran Hertel, SUD union representative at the SDIS of Loire-Atlantique. “We had calculated since the fall that we would need reinforcements of at least 150 agents, he continues. Even though our workforce will increase over the next few years, we will remain understaffed for all the missions we are asked to perform today.” The unionist promises not to give up the fight.We will remain tenacious. There are still positions to be obtained as well as volunteer firefighters to be trained. launches Véran Hertel.
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The objective of increasing salaries and aligning careers with the department’s grid was also included in the memorandum of understanding. “Our president and management will have to act in this direction as soon as financial conditions allow. In the meantime, no one will be fired. specifies Patrice Bonhomme, CFDT delegate at SDIS. So many fights which will resume after the summer break then the next school year, around 2025.
Announced in September 2023, the recruitment program for 67 new firefighters sparked a wave of spontaneous anger within the SDIS of Loire-Atlantique. Professionals had been stung by the laughable number of job openings, given the growing needs of the department, with one of the most dynamic demographics in France. Faced with discontent, management then mentioned “not simple arbitrations” and the preliminary recruitment of around thirty agents between 2021 and 2023. This slow increase in power, however, has a long history. In the 2010s, the SDIS had lost around fifty firefighters due to departures that were not replaced. An austerity cure that was already explained, at the time, by departmental finances in distress. A common thread that does not make the firefighters of Loire-Atlantique laugh.
