Govt calls GFRS conduct antagonistic in ‘unjustifiable’ pay claim

The Gibraltar Government has called the pay claim put forward protesting members of the Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Service unjustifiable and their conduct deliberately antagonistic as the firefighters are set to protest today outside Parliament.

This comes after GFRS firefighters released a statement describing the Government’s narrative as ‘misleading’, stating that the crux of the issue is a night-shift disturbance claim.

In response, the Government said the fragmented approach, as the statement was sent outside the formal structures of Unite the Union, is telling of the nature of the GFRS claim, and is reflective of the lack of any reasonable basis for their demands.

“That is further evidenced by their complete misrepresentation of their conversations with Government Industrial Relations, who have never suggested the idea of a night shift claim by GFRS,” the Government said.

The Government said it was disappointed by the conduct of the firefighters protest which causes significant public disturbance and nuisance over and above what can reasonably constitute peaceful protest.

“Their behaviour in public spaces has now reached a point where it borders on the harassment of fellow public servants, workers in the area, and tourists visiting our city,” the Government said.

The firefighters said basic salary of a GFRS firefighter was £40,656 compared with £42,474 for a UK firefighter.

But the Government again published their salaries which showed the average gross salary of the firefighters protesting is £69,483.17 for wholetime firefighting roles.

The Government added that in the UK, the equivalent average, further to the Local Government Firefighters’ Workforce Survey 2025, on gross annual pay for wholetime firefighting roles was £44,760.00.

“This includes the Continuing Professional Development allowance of firefighters in Gibraltar which stands at £6,295 after their 5th year of employment, whilst in the United Kingdom it is £1,106.64, of which only 59% of firefighters are in receipt of it,” the Government said.

“The take home pay of firefighters in Gibraltar is therefore already fair, reasonable and generous for the important job that they do very well.”

The Government added it is happy to talk to GFRS firefighters about issues they may have, but it will not entertain this “unmeritorious claim”.

PROTEST

The GFRS will take their protest to Parliament on Monday morning and after will pause the demonstrations and call for constructive engagement.

Unite the union announced that GFRS members will be taking their demonstration and protest to Parliament today.

This follows four weeks of consecutive protests at No.6 Convent Place where the union said there has been no engagement from Government or officials.

The GFRS membership will set off from the Fire Station at 9.30am and march to Parliament where they will protest up to midday.

The union said the purpose of protesting outside of the parliamentary session is to draw cross-party attention to their claim and dispute.

The Unite GFRS membership have then decided to pause their demonstrations and protests for the Easter period as a sign of goodwill and to provide the opportunity for the Government to engage directly with the union and Unite GFRS representatives.

“Members have taken a loud, visual and good natured protest to No.6 for the last four weeks which has been met with significant support; however there is disquiet that there has been no engagement from HMGOG, no-one from Government to meet and address the demonstration, no formal correspondence with the union and just a string of press releases,” Stuart Davies, National Officer for Unite Gibraltar said.

“This is why our members are taking their protest and demonstration to Parliament to draw that cross-party attention to the dispute.

“Following the demonstration today, the membership have agreed to pause the cycle of demonstrations as a sign of goodwill and to invite HMGOG to re-engage with Unite and our representatives on dispute resolution.”

He added that the union have repeatedly stated in their communications that they remain open to constructive engagement but will not be moved by pressure tactics.

“So I have today written to HMGOG to advise that our membership will be temporarily standing down across Easter and the ball will be in HMGOG’s court as to that constructive engagement that they have repeatedly cited and to enter into positive dialogue,” Mr Davies said.

APOLOGY

The Government noted that union has had to apologise for basing the claim on an unfair comparison with equally professional firefighters of the Airport Fire and Rescue Service.

On Thursday, Unite apologised to the AFRS after correspondence submitted by the union to the Government in respect of the GFRS claim cited the AFRS and provided a commitment that had not been discussed or agreed with the AFRS membership.

Mr Davies has apologised for the “clear oversight and error”.

“It is a fundamental principle that the AFRS Unite membership and the AFRS membership alone determine any position on their conditions of employment,” he said in a letter.

“This principle should have been observed and it will be strictly observed moving forwards.”