Firefighters protest on November 15th

Last Thursday and week, the Kosovo Fireship Union held a media conference through which it warned protest on November 15th.

Fire Chief Muharrem Beka has said it was three months since the July 12th protest, and yet nothing has been undertaken in terms of union demands.

But today, the Kosovo government has discussed resolving the status of firefighters in the country.

The government cabinet said that for firefighters and other special services, good <x0 news is the adoption of the Document on Finances of Local Power”, which said it paves the way for the new law that will carry their budget to the central level.

“So far firefighters have been managed from the central level, but paid by the local budget. Now, with the new law to be followed by this concept of document, the status of firefighters will be permanently resolved, and roads will be opened for new jobs, better working conditions and better salary”, the Kosovo Government's meeting said.

However, the head of the Fire Union, Muharrem Beka, has expressed disappointment with this government decision.

He has said that they have held a meeting with Finance Minister Bedri Hamza during the day, but of all the demands they have had, only the issue of the cofficients has been resolved that, he says, “will be 6th, minimum for firefighters, and that only in 2019<1>.

There was a meeting today with the Finance Minister where we discussed the demands issued by the Protest Council and the possibilities to get out of this created situation, but of all the demands and promises they gave in the July 12th protest, only the issue of the cofficiency has been resolved to be 6th, minimum firemen, and this in 2019<1811>, Beka said in a Facebook post.

It says to have expressed the frustrations and concerns of fire service and have demanded that these requests, <x0 correct and legitimate”, should be dealt with seriously and according to laws and harmonisations in relation to other emergency services.

But despite the demands, Beka says there was no solution, so she says to have warned Minister Hamza of reactivating the protest.

The “E also announced the warning of riot reactivating and the concerns of firefighters, but the minister was classically not having budgetary means. The same answer since 2008 and this response only to this category of employees, because this proves that firefighters never had institutional attention and no one suspected of our rights that were drastically violated”, has added to Beka.

The head of the Fire Union, Muharrem Beka, on behalf of the Headship of the Union and the Protest Council, has called for “at the next protest on November 15th to answer the massive use of the right to express dissatisfaction and raise a voice about the injustices and discrimination that are consistently addressed to the Fires”.

“Protesta to be dignified as is the mission, and the professional ethics of fire fighters” has ended Beka.