As summers get hotter, Greece's seasonal firefighters protest for permanent jobs

Hundreds of seasonal firefighters successful Greece person protested extracurricular nan country's Civil Protection Ministry, demanding imperishable jobs arsenic their contracts expired aft a harsh wildfire season

ATHENS, Greece -- Hundreds of seasonal firefighters gathered extracurricular Greece’s Civil Protection Ministry Thursday, demanding imperishable positions arsenic their contracts expire pursuing a grueling wildfire season.

The protesters, galore wearing their tan and reddish uniforms, utilized whistles and aerosol horns while carrying Greek flags during nan demonstration. They correspond immoderate 2,500 firefighters whose short-term contracts ended Thursday, leaving them unemployed pinch nan opportunity to beryllium re-hired adjacent May.

Union representatives reason that ambiance alteration has extended Greece’s occurrence consequence beyond nan accepted summertime months, requiring a year-round firefighting capability. The 2023 occurrence play saw an estimated 1,747 sq. kilometers (675 sq. miles) burned — much than 4 times nan yearly mean of nan past decade, according to nan European Union’s wildfire monitoring service.

The harm truthful acold this twelvemonth is estimated astatine 410 sq. kilometers (158 sq. miles) and includes a awesome occurrence that reached nan outskirts of Athens.

Evangelos Tsoukalas, caput of nan Seasonal Firefighters’ Association of Greece, told nan Associated Press that galore of its members pinch six aliases much years of acquisition had been barred from applying for positions successful special firefighting units opened this year, because nan property limit was group astatine 35.

“There is an property cut-off (for those positions). And now our contracts are up, truthful we are being thrown retired arsenic seasonal firefighters,” Tsoukalas said.

While seasonal firefighters typically service from May done October, national officials reason their acquisition is invaluable, peculiarly fixed Greece’s progressively terrible occurrence seasons.

There was nary contiguous consequence from nan authorities to nan request for year-round employment. Greece is grappling pinch adapting its firefighting capabilities to meet nan challenges of longer, much aggravated occurrence seasons.

June and July this summertime were nan hottest connected grounds successful Greece, according to preliminary information from nan upwind work of nan National Observatory of Athens. ___ Follow world sum at: https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment