Julia Sabater, Georgina Sancho and Òscar Vicens are three of the future aspiring firefighters of the Generalitat, which means that they have already overcome the opposition contest, a series of evidence that they exceeded for several months, from May 2024 to February 2025.
“This process requires a preparation of more than three years and we have calculated that implies an expense of almost 11,000 euros,” explains Sabater. The problem, they point out, is that once the opposition has been overcome and while they are in the formation of the Fire School, they only receive 861 euros monthly gross for a formation that requires exclusive dedication.
“We do not receive a decent salary, which corresponds to the requirement of everything we have gone to get here or with the total dedication that we are required,” says Sabater.
In May they will begin this eight -month training period at the Public Seguretat Institut in Catalonia (ISPC), with 900 school hours. Although the established schedule is from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., there is the possibility of adding additional sessions in other locations or outside the usual schedule, says Vicens.
“This forces us to have total availability, which makes it unfeasible to compatible this training with a working day that allows us to obtain sufficient income to cover basic expenses,” adds this applicant.
Sabater emphasizes that they are in a situation of economic vulnerability, because the remuneration during this period does not allow them to cover their basic needs, after all the investment made to get there.
“This is how people with less resources are being excluded from the profession,” warns this young woman, recalls that the 861 euros gross are well below the minimum interprofessional salary (SMI), located at 1,184 euros.
The situation also affects other security forces, such as the Mossos d’Esquadra and forest agents, although, so far, they have not filed any claim.
Wait without response
In July 2023, the Government, through the then Department of Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, signed a commitment to the five union organizations of the Fire Department (CCOO, UGT, Intersindical, IAC-Catac and CSIF) to ensure that the applicants perceive the SMI during their formation.
The Catalan executive promised to fulfill this agreement within a maximum period of two years since his signature. It was planned in the budget project, but was blocked due to the extension of those of 2024 due to the lack of understanding between the parties.
In the absence of a solution, the applicants registered on February 27 in the Parliament a proposal for resolution, with the support of ERC, CUP, COMUNS and JUNTS, together with the union groups of the body.
“Today we are here to continue claiming us,” says Georgina Sancho, one of the future firefighters, in a concentration held Thursday in front of the central headquarters of the Generalitat Bombers, in which both current and future aspiring as firefighters and firefighters who also lived this situation during their formative stage have participated.
The protest has been held during a meeting of the Commission for the monitoring of the agreements between the General Directorate of Protection, Fire Extinction and Rescue (DGPEIS) and the Fire Department unions, where the State of the Agreement signed by the Government has been discussed.
In the meeting, the elaboration of a decree law has been agreed that provides that, for now, applicants can collect 90% of the minimum interprofessional salary. Although it is considered a first step, attendees have made it clear that they will not settle for this percentage and that they will continue to mobilize to achieve 100%.
The decree is expected to be published on March 25 or, at the latest, in early April, and must be approved in the Parliament. However, until then, there will be no certainty about whether a decent salary will be guaranteed to these applicants.
“We understand that any percentage of the minimum wage, by definition, ceases to be the minimum. It is not negotiable and we will continue with the protests until the signed is fulfilled two years ago, ”says David Fernández, a firefighter from Cornellà de Llobregat and Delegate for the Prevention of Occupational Risk of UGT.
“During the meeting there was the concern of the other bodies such as Mossos or the forestry asked the same, since it would be very high cost,” says David Curto, a future aspiring firefighter. “However, unlike us, they do not have an agreement signed for two years that supports this demand,” he adds.
Rubén García, a firefighter since 2003, explains that in its time the training period lasted only three months. “It was already unfair what we charged, but now it’s eight months,” he said. “It’s a shame.”
“We must be united by those who are making a huge effort to get here. It cannot be that, for economic reasons, someone cannot opt for a job that is totally supportive and dedicated to helping others, ”claims Isaac Sánchez, a future applicant.
Óscar Virgili, another of the applicants, called “classist” the fact that, in order to be a firefighter, everything would have to leave everything to do the training. “There are people who can’t afford it,” he complains.
“It is very classist that, if you have to leave everything to start this formation, there are people who cannot afford it economically or who find themselves with difficulties,” adds Óscar Virgili, also a future aspiring firefighter. “It is a shame that applicants have to depend on the help of relatives,” added Fernández, Cornellà’s firefighter.
The vocation
Sabater emphasizes that, according to data from the last promotion of applicants, most are not young newly incorporated into the labor market, but professionals with previous experience that, in many cases, must combine training with family responsibilities, the care of dependent people or economic commitments such as rentals and mortgages that cannot cancel.
This situation further aggravates the impact of insufficient remuneration for so many months. He also adds that 40% of the applicants of that promotion come from outside Barcelona, which forces them to assume accommodation or transportation expenses.
“Although the Public Seguretat Institut of Catalonia (ISPC) has a residence for applicants, the number of places is limited and the facilities do not have cooking, which forces them to eat out daily,” he emphasizes.
Applicants also emphasize that within the same labor category there are differences: “Those who are already officials or labor personnel of the same administration can maintain their previous salary during training, which generates great salary inequalities,” explains one of them. “While some charge € 861, others receive a much larger amount for performing the same course.”
They also emphasize that Barcelona firefighters receive a salary complement that guarantees them to collect the SMI, unlike the Firefighters of the Generalitat, which cover the rest of Catalonia and do not have this compensation. “This is even more incoherent, since the 2023 agreement recognizes the need for inter -administrative mobility within the body,” says Fernández.
“We leave our skin to reach the end of the process,” admits Georgina Sancho, a future firefighter candidate, while remembering that the profession is very vocational and cannot depend on the economic situation, but on the capacity and commitment to public service.
Future aspiring firefighters of the Generalitat have made it clear that there are only two options: shut up and wait, or continue fighting for what they really want. In unison, the answer has been overwhelming: “mobilize and follow.”
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