Applications for membership in the municipal fire department are being solicited by the Alicante Council. In 2023 and 2025, a total of 22 positions are anticipated to be available for public employment, including 15 open positions and 7 mobile positions. The local government is now in the process of fulfilling one of the agreements that was reached with the department in the wake of the demonstrations at the beginning of the year. These protests resulted in significant tension between a significant portion of the fire department and the municipal government.
The Local Government Board authorised the call for applications and specific rules for the selection process for the recruitment of permanent civil servants. The objective is to fill 22 positions in the Fire Prevention, Extinction, and Rescue Service (SPEIS) of the Alicante Council. It is anticipated that this process will augment the workforce by recruiting over twenty new employees. Moreover, this call is a component of the agreement between the City Council and the unions to halt the protests announced by the Firefighters’ Platform (an organisation without official representation but endorsed by over one hundred firefighters) during the first half of the year.
During the municipal plenary session in March, the Platform and the Council experienced their most intense conflict. Protesters attempted to enter the plenary chamber to present their demands to the mayor, but the mayor ultimately ordered the evacuation of the area. The mayor emphasised that the legitimacy of the group was undermined by the creation of platforms that lacked any representation, as opposed to the representation of leaders and unions. The local government subsequently proclaimed the commencement of disciplinary proceedings, which ultimately failed to materialise as a result of subsequent negotiations with the unions.
The Platform issued a severe critique of the most recent employment opening announced by the City Council in April in relation to the competitive examinations. The group regarded it as a “regression” and recalled that the City Council had last initiated a process in May 2019, six years ago, when a pool was established to “temporarily fill vacancies.” To date, they have stated that “there are a total of 38 new recruits in absolute numbers; however, this figure is not realistic, as 17 of those colleagues have either left or will be joining other administrations.” The majority of these colleagues have joined the Provincial Consortium.
Author: Derek Appleton
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