Fire and Rescue Services personnel went on a sit-in strike at various stations across the Union Territory protesting the move to appoint 30 ex-servicemen through the “back door”.
According to an office-bearer of the Pondicherry State Fire Services Staff Association, back-door entry of the ex-servicemen, who have not undergone any training, would jeopardise the functioning of the fire brigade and put people’s life at risk in the case of fire accidents.
He said the ex-servicemen were being roped in at a consolidated pay of `10,000 at various fire stations.
The Fire Services Staff Association office-bearer said that many irregularities were pointed out during the appointment of the last batch of firemen in 2012.
The firemen were normally absorbed into service after six months of training in the field as well as in-service training for another six months.
Special training was being imparted to the personnel in fire fighting and rescue operations. All these had been flouted in the latest move to appoint the ex-servicemen through the back-door, the office-bearer said on condition of anonymity.
He also said that the administration should conduct proper test and then appoint the eligible persons as firemen. The leader said they would only attend duties to deal with fire accidents and would continue their protest till the back-door appointees were withdrawn.