On 31 October 2024, a militant demonstration of seasonal firefighters took place in the centre of Athens, demanding their permanent employment. The firefighters held a rally in front of the Ministry of Civil Protection after the government decided not to renew their contracts, but to call for a new tender with lower age limits.

As a result of this decision, they stress, most of the seasonal firefighters will be forced into unemployment as they will not be able to participate in the tender. This is a group of workers, who, after years of continuous service and contribution to the Fire Brigade, have gained valuable experience in this crucial field. The government refuses to make the 2,400 seasonal firefighters permanent, while the Fire Brigade has more than 4, 000 vacancies.

By making them redundant, the government is trying to recycle unemployment and perpetuate the limbo of seasonal firefighters, who mainly staff the forest patrol vehicles. Seasonal firefighters have been facing this unacceptable situation since 1998, when the institution was created with the transfer of forest firefighting from the Forest Service to the Fire Brigade, under the responsibility of the New Democracy, SYRIZA and PASOK governments. Instead of making the seasonal firefighters permanent, the governments of these parties perpetuated and continue to perpetuate their limbo and insecurity.

The only demand that can satisfy the firefighters and the people who want security for their lives and property is the permanent employment of all these workers, said Christos Katsotis, member of the CC of the KKE and MP, addressing the firefighters.

After the mass demonstration at the Ministry of Civil Protection, the seasonal firefighters remained at the ministry's premises, demanding a meeting with the minister. In the evening, on the government’s orders, the riot police tear-gassed and beat up the people who had been extinguishing fires all summer.

In fact, riot police and other armed police officers beat and arrested "Rizospastis" journalist Giorgos Androutsos outside the Ministry of Civil Protection, while he was reporting on the brutal attack on the seasonal firefighters.

“He's a journalist,” shouted his colleagues, the KKE MP Christos Katsotis and the crowd gathered, but the police persisted. They threw him to the ground and handcuffed him for recording their despicable actions!

The spokesperson of the KKE parliamentary group, Thanasis Pafilis, contacted the Minister of Citizen Protection, M. Chrysochoidis, and demanded the immediate release of the journalist. The immediate release of the journalist was also demanded by the journalists’ unions.

The repression against the firefighters was condemned by the KKE, while the seasonal firefighters held a new rally in the morning of 1 November in front of the parliament.

The All Workers’ Militant Front (PAME) called on all trade unions to support the firefighters’ struggle.

The spokesperson of the KKE parliamentary group, Thanasis Pafilis, contacted the Minister of Citizen Protection, M. Chrysochoidis, and demanded the immediate release of the journalist. The immediate release of the journalist was also demanded by the journalists’ unions.

The repression against the firefighters was condemned by the KKE, while the seasonal firefighters held a new rally in the morning of 1 November in front of the parliament.

The All Workers’ Militant Front (PAME) called on all trade unions to support the firefighters’ struggle.

 The General Secretary of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, took part in the rally of the seasonal firefighters on 1 November. He expressed the Party's solidarity with their struggle for permanent employment and condemned yesterday's brutal attack by the forces of repression.

“At the moment there is no other solution than to make all seasonal firefighters permanent. This is the solution, because they cover fixed and permanent needs 365 days a year, not just during the fire season, that is from April to October. They cover flood protection, earthquake protection, fires that break out and other natural disasters throughout the year, and the shortages in the Fire Brigade are enormous.

The permanent employment of seasonal firefighters and the recruitment of at least 4,000 firefighters should have been done by now. Yet here there are 2,500 seasonal firefighters and the government is not making them permanent. This is unacceptable! We will be against it, we will be in the streets of struggle. We will be breathing down their necks both inside and outside the Parliament”, he told the media.

Responding to a journalist's question about yesterday's images of government repression, Dimitris Koutsoumbas stated:

“It is unacceptable. People who are fighting for a just cause, to make a living for themselves and their families, to be exposed to tonnes of chemicals, even inside the ministry, in closed rooms, risking their lives and being brutally beaten, along with them and your fellow journalists, from what we have learned. These are unacceptable phenomena! The government must solve the problem and stop beating and attacking people, our fellow human beings, who are fighting for their rights.”

01.11.2024