CDS Braga wants “more dignified” conditions for firefighters

The League of Portuguese Firefighters demands that the law be complied with in what concerns “the constitution of the legal regime for employment contracts between humanitarian firefighter associations and personnel integrated into the command and active staff of the respective fire brigade that performs paid duties”.

“Another of the demands/needs – already presented to the previous Government – ​​is to ensure that humanitarian firefighters associations on the continent are properly financed for their purposes. They also demand that annex B of table no. 3 of the Financial Directive 2024 be changed, stating the value of 4.73 euros per hour for firefighters and €8.90 for command elements, guaranteeing the value provided with reference to the remuneration table of public administration, level 19”, says Altino Bessa, municipal councilor and president of the Political Committee of the Municipality of Braga, who says he is “totally in favor of what he considers not to be demands, but rather urgent needs that should already be in force” .

“The previous Government chose to use the ‘veil of ignorance’ and not give importance to the basic needs listed by the Portuguese Firefighters League. It is everyone’s knowledge, or should be, that Volunteer Firefighters have a preponderant and essential role in the country. Making a kind of reflection at a local level, I must say that the Braga Volunteer Firefighters – Humanitarian and Charitable Association perform a very relevant job in the safety of the population. When we hear the term ‘Firefighters’ the first idea that comes to mind is firefighting. However, nowadays, being a Volunteer Firefighter goes far beyond fighting flames”, maintains Altino Bessa.

For those who are unaware, the Volunteer Fire Department develops a series of broad and even multidisciplinary, for example, daily transport of patients and urgent victims; transporting patients to appointments, hemodialysis and functional recovery. Only in this way is it possible to guarantee cohesion and equity of services to the community. The municipality of Braga has done a lot of solid work in partnership with our Volunteer Firefighters. As a Civil Protection councilor, I can say that the population of Braga can be proud of the exemplary and tireless work carried out by the entire Fire Department team. Now, with a new barracks and the support of the municipality, they will have better conditions logistics. However, much more is expected. And this ‘much more’ must be leveraged by the Central Government. For more than seventeen years, the Portuguese Firefighters League has expressed the needs listed. They have already waited too long for rights that, in our view, are basic and fundamental to guarantee the human stability of the institution”, reinforces the centrist.