“In view of the lack of concrete responses from the government, responsible protest measures were approved, always safeguarding aid to the population,” announced the chair of the congress board, Luis Gil Barreiros, today at the presentation of the conclusions of the 45th National Congress of the LBP, which has been taking place since Saturday in Alcobaça, in the district of Leiria.
The vote on the 16 motions submitted to the congress resulted in the approval of protests, of which the one that generated the most discussion was the “refusal to carry out hospital discharges”, i.e. the transport of non-urgent patients who have been discharged from hospitals, for periods that could increase, successively, from 12 to 24 or 48 hours.
The protests will also include “district and national concentrations, slow marches and coordinated siren calls”, said the chair.
The firefighters, who are unhappy with the current situation and are demanding answers from the government, have also decided to suspend institutional presence at protocol events, media campaigns, and to hang protest banners in fire stations, to send vehicles to the parliament every month and to take actions such as collecting 20,000 signatures from citizens to lobby for legislative initiatives.
These actions “reflect the sector’s determination to make its voice heard and to demand respect for its demands,” added Gil Barreiros.
The congress, which took place “in a context of collective demand and deep reflection on the future of protection and rescue in Portugal”, ended, according to the congress bureau, with “a unequivocal message: the current model is exhausted and needs urgent structural reforms”.
The sector, which “isn’t asking for privileges, but is demanding justice and recognition”, decided to demand the creation of a national firefighter career, as well as a firefighter statute that “includes a labour contract with the humanitarian associations, its own pay scale with progression by rank and seniority, adequate social protection and a fair retirement system”.
The congress conclusions also focused on valuing volunteering through measures such as exemptions from income tax on compensation, tax breaks on road tax, municipal property tax, and tolls, as well as priority in public tenders and access to higher education, among others.
Concerning the sustainable financing of humanitarian associations, the congress demands that the subsidy model be replaced by multiannual programme contracts that “ensure financial stability, cover fixed costs, energy, communications, insurance and vehicles”.
It also called for the creation of a multiannual re-equipment plan to ensure the renovation of vehicles and fire stations, with a compulsory annual contribution for the purchase of personal protective equipment and uniforms, as well as for technological modernisation and energy transition.
Portuguese firefighters also demand a review of the amounts paid by the National Institute for Medical Emergencies (INEM), the transport of non-emergency patients, access to green diesel, and a reduction in the contribution rate.
The congress also approved the need to create a statute for association leaders, Regional Coordination Centres and a National Fire Brigade Command, measures that “aim to ensure that firefighters are operational and safe, as well as adapting to the demands of a modern civil protection system”.
Platform with Lusa
