The courts have ruled in favor of a firefighter who was forced to work outside of his working day. The ruling, won by the Workers’ Commissions of La Rioja, recognizes the right of workers to conciliation. Specifically, it was the Contentious Court number 1 of Logroño that ruled in favor of this CEIS Rioja firefighter who was forced to work outside of his working day.
As reported in the judgment, the events occurred between 2023 and 2024 when CEIS Rioja imposed, through resolutions, the obligation for firefighters to work outside their working hours without taking into account the established work schedule, vacations, work permits for breastfeeding or your personal situation. In fact, CCOO estimates that the Consortium issued approximately 200 orders imposing services without taking into account the conciliation of workers.
Concretely, this judgment won by CCOO recognizes that the rights of a CEIS firefighter who was forced to work outside his shift were violated. Concretely, he was supposed to work on December 29, 2023, having given notice the day before, as this date was the school holidays and the firefighter was looking after a minor child. The CEIS management was aware of the situation and the needs of the workers and nevertheless imposed the working day on them.
Although CEIS Rioja has the power to self-organize its services, it must assess the rights of workers to work-life balance and the needs of the service. In this sense, the court issued a judgment recognizing that the imposition of services was not in accordance with the law. In this, the judicial resolution represents a step forward in protecting the right to reconcile family and work life of workers. CCOO will continue working to defend workers’ rights.
This is not the first time that a similar event has occurred within the La Rioja firefighters. In January 2024, Andrés Bretón experienced a similar situation. This firefighter from La Rioja was working in the Arnedo park, a municipality located about 50 kilometers from Logroño, the city where he lives. Bretón was taking breastfeeding leave after the birth of his five-month-old son Martín. “A leave that fathers and mothers can enjoy in different ways, I chose to leave an hour before work to facilitate my wife’s return to the labor market. That week, Bretón worked nights, from midnight to 8 a.m. Every day, he left the fire station at 7 a.m. to be able to arrive in Logroño on time and take care of Martín while his wife worked in the morning. “On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, at one in the morning,” said this firefighter to Rioja2, “the head of CEIS Rioja informs me, by resolution, that I must extend the day from 8 in the morning until 4:00:00:00 hours for service needs.
In fact, the situation between the CEIS Rioja firefighters and the management of the Consortium has been more than tense. And the former director, David Sainz, refused to comply with the agreement signed with the previous government of La Rioja of Concha Andreu, which, in addition to the work schedule, provided for an increase in staff and an agreement on overtime. After several protests and the failure of negotiations, the firefighters took the matter to court.
In April 2024, the Contentious Administrative Court number 1 of Logroño ruled in favor of the CEIS Riojas firefighters on the precautionary measures presented against the calendar imposed by the Government of La Rioja. By resolution of December 28, 2023, the presidency of CEIS Rioja, that is, the government, approved an annual calendar for 2024 and an annual day with which the firefighters did not agree. Specifically, an eight-hour working schedule was imposed when the firefighters opted for the 24-hour schedule agreed with the previous government chaired by Concha Andreu. They considered that the “offer” of the Capellan government did not improve “neither the working conditions of professionals nor the quality of the service” and they went further, even assuring that “they do not care about putting us in danger or putting the citizens who may need our services in danger.”
Since mid-June of this year, CEIS Rioja has a new director, José María Ruiz de Clavijo.
