New protest today of seasonal firefighters – 14 injured in the riots after the occupation at the Ministry of Civil Protection

Fourteen people were injured during last night’s clashes between police and seasonal firefighters, both inside and outside the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection building, following an occupation by some of the seasonal firefighters. According to the police, 12 of the injured were police officers.

Alexis Psaropoulos, President of the Panhellenic Union of Contract Firefighters (PASSYP), stated that two firefighters were injured and were taken to hospitals.

According to the police, four people were detained and taken to police headquarters (GADA).

The seasonal firefighters condemned the attack by the riot police (MAT) that occurred while they were demanding permanent employment status. They announced a gathering at 10 a.m. outside Parliament. Dimitris Koutsoumbas, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), will attend the rally, and the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) has called on all unions to participate.

The government briefed opposition MPs on the incidents with the seasonal firefighters and riot police.

Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy Alexandra Sdoukou provided MPs, who had earlier requested a full update, with details from officials on the events involving seasonal firefighters and the riot police outside the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection.

“Yesterday afternoon, a protest gathering took place outside the ministry, during which a delegation of seasonal firefighters was received by the Chief of the Fire Department, Mr. Vaias, and later by the Deputy Minister for the Climate Crisis, Mr. Tournas, with a new meeting agreed upon with Minister Vassilis Kikilias for next Wednesday,” she said.

According to Ms. Sdoukou, “A short time after the delegation departed, a group of seasonal firefighters violently stormed the ministry, broke down the door, and occupied parts of the ministry, including the entrance to the Unified Operations Coordination Center, disrupting the smooth functioning of the fire department’s central operations.”

“With this situation and crisis at hand, the police received approval from the prosecutor, and the group was removed. During the removal, some incidents occurred,” she added.

Ms. Sdoukou then emphasized recruitment and the legal framework governing it. “According to the legislation and Presidential Decree 36/2019 established by the then-SYRIZA government, the hiring of seasonal firefighters is set for a six-month employment period annually, during the fire season, with contracts renewed each year for a five-year term under this arrangement.”

“This year, the contracts for seasonal firefighters hired through the 2019 and 2020 recruitment rounds are expiring. Therefore, a new recruitment process is planned and will be conducted to fill these positions.”

“This new recruitment round, as is always the case, will give a high scoring advantage to those with prior experience as seasonal firefighters,” she added.

“Since 2022, the vast majority of firefighters hired into the forest command units have come from the pool of seasonal firefighters,” she highlighted.

“By 2025, this approach will result in the hiring of 1,340 seasonal firefighters as forest command firefighters. This year alone, the Fire Department will see a total of 830 new hires,” she clarified.

“Let me remind you that in 2019, when ND took over, the Fire Department’s strength was approximately 13,100 firefighters, and today it stands at 14,700,” she noted, adding that “with new hires, by 2025, the department’s numbers will exceed 15,500, and with the additional 2,500 seasonal hires, they will ultimately reach 18,000 firefighters by the next fire season.”

Timeline of the Contentious Occupation of the Ministry of Civil Protection by Seasonal Firefighters

The situation began when a group of protesting firefighters decided to occupy the ministry, prompting an order from the police for evacuation. When the firefighters did not leave within the given deadline, the police intervened, deploying tear gas inside the building.

The firefighters briefly blocked Kifisias Avenue, and the clashes continued outside the building. Police used flash grenades, and the water cannon truck was also deployed, dispersing the firefighters with water and successfully breaking up the crowd.

According to reports and related photos, during the clashes, Rizospastis journalist Giorgos Androutsos, who was covering the events, was detained.

KKE parliamentary representative Th. Pafilis demanded the immediate release of the Rizospastis journalist in a phone call to the Minister of Citizen Protection, M. Chrysochoidis. The journalist was arrested outside the Ministry of Civil Protection while covering the police action against seasonal firefighters. The police then transferred the journalist to the Marousi police station and subsequently to the Athens Police Headquarters (GADA).

ESIEA and POESY also intervened, calling for his release.

At the scene, the president of the Movement for Freedom, Zoe Konstantopoulou, was also present to show support for the seasonal firefighters.

Outside the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Stefanos Kasselakis joined the seasonal firefighters and later went to the Athens Police Headquarters (GADA) to gather information about the four individuals who were arrested—three seasonal firefighters and one journalist, as he mentioned in a post.

How the Clashes Erupted – The Announcement from the Police

It is recalled that the police had given the firefighters a deadline to leave the building by 8:30 PM to prevent the evacuation of the ministry by riot police forces (MAT). However, the firefighters did not leave after the deadline and decided to enter the building of the Ministry of Civil Protection, resulting in clashes.

Earlier, a seasonal firefighter threatened to end his life if riot police entered the building.

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In a statement, the Hellenic Police said the following:

“Regarding the gathering of seasonal firefighters outside the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, the following is announced by the Greek Police Headquarters:

Following the completion of a meeting between their delegation and representatives of the Ministry, during the evening hours, individuals remained inside the ministry building despite being given a deadline to exit after communication with the responsible prosecutor.

The individuals did not leave the area, and during their presence, they caused damage and attacked police forces by throwing objects, resulting in one police officer being injured and transported to a hospital for first aid.

Furthermore, after their removal from the ministry premises, the individuals remained outside, causing disruptions to public transport and pedestrian traffic.”

Meeting with Vassilis Kikilias

The seasonal firefighters gathered outside the ministry demanding the renewal of their contracts. In light of the protest, Minister of Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias announced that he would meet with representatives of the firefighters next week.

“As I had committed, after the end of the fire season, I will hold a meeting with representatives of the seasonal contract firefighters. I will do this next Wednesday, November 6. In this meeting, we will thoroughly discuss their needs, concerns, and issues before proceeding with the recruitment process under Presidential Decree 36/2019, which, as everyone knows, was voted in 2019 during the SYRIZA government,” Mr. Kikilias stated.

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