Haryana fire staff strike enters third week, no fresh talks held

Staff demand ₹1 crore compensation, jobs for kin of deceased firefighters, regularisation and better pay; govt deployed police, transport staff to manage rising summer fire calls.

At least 2,200 contractual and ad-hoc employees of the Haryana directorate of fire and emergency services continued their protest on Tuesday, with no fresh negotiations held after initial talks since the agitation began on April 8, officials said.

Haryana fire staff strike enters third week, no fresh talks held

Directorate officials said three rounds of talks were held at the start of the protest, but no discussions have taken place since. A senior fire official said chief minister Nayab Singh Saini had announced ₹30 lakh compensation each for the families of two firefighters who died in an industrial fire in Faridabad in February.

To be sure, fire and emergency services personnel are demanding ₹1 crore compensation and a government job for families of deceased firefighters, along with regularisation, ₹25,500 grade pay, allowances, and a retirement age of 58 years.

“The announcement was made after the protest started, but the union is still demanding that both the families be given ₹1 crore compensation each along with a government job for one of the dependants,” he said.

Officials said the situation is being managed with personnel from police, transport and other departments deployed as replacements, even as fire incidents have increased during summer.

Sinand said no government representative has met the protesters in the last fortnight, and they continue to demand ₹1 crore compensation for the families of the two contractual firefighters who died in the Faridabad fire, along with a government job for a dependent. He added that the union is also seeking regularisation of contractual fire operators hired through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam and on an ad hoc basis. “We have demanded ₹25,500 grade pay with dearness and all other allowances with a retirement age of 58 years,” he said.

“No wage increment of the fire operators has taken place for the last six years. We work on a meagre remuneration of approximately ₹15,000,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sajjan Kumar, assistant divisional fire officer (headquarters), said the department will continue to carry out routine duties through makeshift arrangements.