"I'm starting to get tired": French firefighter wary about push for working more years
Record ID:
1448630
"I'm starting to get tired": French firefighter wary about push for working more years
- Title: "I'm starting to get tired": French firefighter wary about push for working more years
- Date: 16th December 2019
- Summary: SANNOIS, FRANCE (DECEMBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTER WILLIAM PERIERAS PUTTING ON UNIFORM PERIERAS WALKING DOWNSTAIRS PEREIRAS PUTTING ON BOOTS PERIERAS LEAVING HOME CAR PASSING PERIERAS DRIVING DETAIL OF PERIERAS' HAND WITH RING WHILE DRIVING ROAD SEEN FROM THE CAR WHILE HE IS DRIVING EAUBONNE, FRANCE (DECEMBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) AMBULANCE LEAVING FIRE STATION PARIS, FRANCE (DECEMBER 5, 2019) (REUTERS) FIREFIGHTERS PROTESTING AGAINST PROPOSED PENSION REFORMS ON FIRST DAY OF FRENCH GENERAL STRIKE VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS WAVING FLAG FROM SCAFFOLDING ABOVE PROTEST NANTES, FRANCE (DECEMBER 5, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS PROTESTING AGAINST PROPOSED PENSION REFORMS ON FIRST DAY OF FRENCH GENERAL STRIKE SANNOIS, FRANCE (DECEMBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) PERIERAS IN LIVING ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (French) 46-YEAR-OLD FIREFIGHTER, WILLIAM PERIERAS, SAYING: 'I'm starting to get tired and to be honest, I can't see myself at 62 or 64 years old jumping into an ambulance like someone who is 20 years old, who is in good shape and who is at the best physically. So I hoped to retire at 57 but today I don't know what's going to happen.' PERIERAS' DAUGHTER'S DRAWING (SOUNDBITE) (French) 46-YEAR-OLD FIREFIGHTER, WILLIAM PERIERAS, SAYING: 'We are working 24 hours a day, not 8 hours - meaning that we don't come back home at night, we are not with our family compared to people working in an office. Only 16 out of 24 working hours are taken into account out of 24, this only applies in the Val d'Oise region, in some other regions it is different. Our working conditions are strenuous, our work is physically demanding. When you have to wake up at night - you're sleeping, you're at 60 heartbeats per minute, and then you have to go out on deployment, it goes up to 120 heartbeats per minute. It is like an engine, it gets strained and then one day.... There is also the firefighters' life expectancy which is not very long. When they retire at 60 years old, I believe life expectancy is around 66, so I'd say we will not cost a lot to the government. There is also the psychological aspect. When we are harrassed, and we come back to the fire station and think about why it happened over and over. And we have no answer.' PERIERAS'S PAY SLIP PERIERAS LOOKING AT PAY SLIP PERIERAS' FACE (SOUNDBITE) (French) 46-YEAR-OLD FIREFIGHTER, WILLIAM PERIERAS, SAYING: "Today, I earn 1854.35 euros (per month) and I have worked as a firefighter since 2003. It was not always the same amount but when we look at what I am doing and the services I provide, I think it is below what I should earn." EAUBONNE, FRANCE (DECEMBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF FIRE STATION VARIOUS OF PERIERAS WALKING TO FIRE STATION
- Embargoed: 30th December 2019 16:21
- Keywords: Macron firefighter pension reform pensions protests
- Location: SANNOIS, EAUBONNE, PARIS & NANTES, FRANCE
- City: SANNOIS, EAUBONNE, PARIS & NANTES, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Lawmaking,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001BA87OLJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:French firefighter William Perieras is one of France's many public sector workers who feel the government's proposed pension reforms are likely to lead to later retirement and lower compensation in old age.
Perieras, who works at a grueling schedule at a fire station in the Paris suburb of Eaubonne, would have been able to retire at 57 with a full pension before the reforms.
But French President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform scheme has thrown all that in uncertainty, and the 46-year-old Perieras says his union has warned that retirees would receive a reduced pension if they retire at the minimum age, rather than working extra years to accrue a higher pension payment.
As part of an overhaul of France's pension system, French Prime minister, Edouard Philippe, announced last week a package of bonuses and discounts will be put in place to encourage the French to work until the age of 64 by 2027.
"I hoped to retire at 57 but today I don't know what's going to happen", he told Reuters at his home in the suburb of Sannois.
Philippe said in his announcement that workers in professions classified as dangerous would still be allowed to retire early under the new pension scheme.
Soldiers, prison guards, air traffic controllers and the police are all included in the list of dangerous professions, with some allowed to retire at age 52 and others, including firefighters, at age 57 under the new scheme.
Pereiras fears firefighters will receive the shorter end of the stick, and lose full benefits if they retire at 57. Unions find this unacceptable, given the difficult working conditions they face.
Perieras usually starts his work day at 8 a.m. and does not return home until the following morning - a strenuous pace which he fears he will not be able to keep up with as he grows older.
'I'm starting to get tired and to be honest, I can't see myself at 62 or 64 years old jumping into an ambulance like someone who is 20 years old," he said.
Perieras has worked as a firefighter for 16 years, and has been severely injured once.
Hardships, risk of injury and death and low monthly pay all concerned him, and he has been protesting for several months for better recognition of their profession.
Last December 5, he was among numerous firefighters who joined the mass movement against pension reforms.
In Eaubonne's fire station, Perieras said, only 40 of the 100 firefighters are permanent employees, with voluntary and part-time workers filling the personnel gap.
'We are working 24 hours a day, not 8 hours - meaning that we don't come back home at night, we are not with our family compared to people working in an office", Perieras said, adding that firefighters work under extreme stress and have shorter life expectancies.
Firefighters' unions are also demanding to receive the same bonus rates as policemen, claiming that they face similar risks.
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