Andorra Firefighters Halt Overtime and Training Over Pay and Safety Disputes

Andorra's SIB A-118 firefighters union, representing 90% of the force, has escalated its protest measures by unanimously halting voluntary overtime and both internal and external training sessions. The decision took effect Friday after an extraordinary assembly Thursday evening, where members reviewed stalled talks with the government on the AVAC evaluation system, career plans, and long-standing demands.

The union cites a lack of satisfactory progress in negotiations over consolidating specialty recognition, improving park and facility conditions, renewing vehicles and equipment, and increasing staffing levels. These steps reflect members' expressed will to press for concrete responses and commitments ensuring proper working, professional, and operational conditions across the force.

Key disputes center on salary adjustments tied to the career framework. The government offers 1.33% annual increases from 2009 to 2025, but SIB A-118 demands 1.66% through 2026, applied automatically to existing staff without partial performance-based payments.

Firefighters also challenge the AVAC model's advancement criteria across three levels and six grades, which demands an average 7/10 competency score with no less than 6/10 in any of five areas. The union wants the pass threshold reduced to 5/10, with options to offset lower marks.

Operational priorities include minimum staffing of 12 at Central Park and four per peripheral park, plus a hiring timeline; maximum vehicle ages; a dedicated renewal budget; overtime scheduling reforms; and reinstatement of 40 annual sick leave hours.

Health protections remain critical, with demands for decontamination protocols at all parks—dual intervention clothing sets, washing and drying facilities, segregated clean and contaminated areas—and routine cancer screenings. The union references the International Agency for Research on Cancer's 2022 designation of firefighters' occupational exposures as carcinogenic.

The measures will persist until the government engages meaningfully. Firefighters have previously boycotted overtime over unmet pledges by Interior Minister Ester Molné, with no official response yet.