Firefighter candidates are mobilizing to earn the minimum wage while they train.
The measure has been dropped due to the budget extension and the body's offer is to pay 90% of the minimum wage.
BarcelonaThis Thursday morning, aspiring firefighters from the Catalan government gathered outside the headquarters of the Catalan emergency service in Bellaterra to demand that their salary be the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) for the duration of their training. According to them, this period lasts eight months, and they are required to be available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Training begins in May, and there is increasingly less time to obtain it. "Most of the applicants are over thirty and have financial burdens," lament the platform's spokespersons. In fact, they explain that in 2023, a union agreement was signed with the Ministry of the Interior that included this salary equalization within a two-year period, but it has not been implemented. The reason? The Catalan government argues that it was included in the new budget for 2025, which was ultimately not approved, and that is why the measure has been dropped. A meeting was held this Thursday morning, which ended without an agreement, according to the applicants.
The candidates emphasize that the monthly salary they receive during their training period is 861 euros gross, about 300 euros below the minimum wage (SMI). The future firefighters have met with parliamentary groups and have managed to register a resolution proposal, with the support of ERC, the CUP, the Comuns (Communist Party), and Junts (Junts), requesting that the chamber urge the Government to guarantee this salary increase. For the moment, the request has not yet reached the plenary session. According to sources from the candidate platform, this Thursday they were offered 90% of the minimum wage (SMI) and decided, in an assembly, to reject this proposal. "It's the minimum they should pay us; percentages are not valid," they state. The demonstrations continue.
However, the platform criticizes the fact that no solutions are yet on the table. The 300 candidates from the latest class estimate that, on average, each spends 11,000 euros on the process to secure a position, and the salary equalization would represent one million euros for the administration, 0.047% of the Interior Ministry's budget, and 0.299%. "We've gone into debt to get here," they insist.
The meeting
Aspiring firefighters in the Generalitat (Catalan government) estimate that they will lose €2,500 in earnings due to not receiving the minimum wage during their training period, which requires "absolute dedication" with "insufficient remuneration." "We have high hopes for this Thursday's meeting," they told ARA. It was a meeting with the firefighter unions with this measure on the agenda, and they were present as advisors.
40% of the applicants in this class also come from outside Barcelona, which means they must cover accommodation or transportation costs. This figure, along with the cost of training for the entrance exams, was obtained from an internal survey they conducted among applicants. They add that this salary is excluding people from the firefighting profession because they cannot live for eight months on €800 a month. The candidates are asking that the government explore all the possibilities available to implement the measure, even if the budgets are already scheduled.
