Firefighters in Tipperary go on strike over working hours and pay

Almost 2,000 on-call fire fighters have been staging industrial action since the early hours of this morning in a dispute over working hours and pay and the action is scheduled to last one week.

Fire fighters at the Fire Station in Cahir played their part this morning.

Trade union SIPTU said local authorities have failed to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the fire service. Fire fighters will not be attending training drills or testing life-saving equipment like breathing apparatus during the industrial action.

Over the coming weeks the nature of the action is scheduled to escalate, with the first day of all-out strike action set to take place on June 20.