It is an understatement to say that the urgent inquiry warning about “the fire at the Lausanne fire station” also spread the fire to the ranks of the Municipal Council. After a historic, because unprecedented, mobilization at the beginning of November, the firefighters repeated their march this Tuesday, successfully this time.
The firefighters of the Vaud capital, supported by the SSP union, were still demanding the application of pre-retirement arrangements voted in 2014 by the Legislature, but never applied, as well as night allowances commensurate with those available to the paramedics or police officers, among other measures. The City responded to these demands with delay, with a long document summarizing the situation of the Lausanne firefighters, deemed satisfactory.
“This profession deserves our admiration and recognition,” assured Tuesday the municipal PLR Pierre-Antoine Hildbrand. Who believes, however, that the current case-by-case management was in line with the decisions taken by his predecessors and voted on in the plenum, and was largely sufficient. A delayed response which had aroused “indignation” from the elected questioner Pierre Conscience (Ensemble à Gauche), as well as a certain chaos in the ranks of the Municipal Council as a whole.
Ultimately, the demands made by the firefighters and the SSP were widely accepted, with the support of all the political parties represented. “I spoke with a trade unionist, which is not my habit,” quipped UDC elected official Valentin Christe, who nevertheless called on his group to vote in favor of these revaluations, just like the PLR, which added additional proposals, notably for better management of parking spaces, which were also accepted. Welcoming “striking” votes, the SSP rejoiced at a “great stage victory”.
