Cyprus has the second largest drop in the number of firefighters within its ranks across 12 EU member states in 2023, an analysis by European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has revealed.
The numbers come amid increased risks of fires and climate change.
“The cuts also coincided with the second hottest year recorded in European history,” ETUC said.
Sourcing data from the Labour Force Survey in 2023 and 2024, the ETUC analysis showed Cyprus had a 28.6 per cent change in the number of firefighters.
Specifically, in 2022, the number was at 1,961 which dropped to 1,400, in 2023, translating to 560 fewer firefighters.
“Eurostat figures show that there were 362,400 firefighters in the EU in 2023, which is an increase of 3,200 on the previous year.
“However, a look behind that headline figure reveals worrying cuts to fire services in 12 member states – the majority of the countries for which Eurostat has published figures.
“They include countries which experienced huge wildfires in 2023, such as Greece, Italy and Cyprus.”
“Cutting the number of firefighters at a time when the climate crisis is increasing the risk of fires is not what is needed and irresponsible,” said ETUC general secretary Esther Lynch.
“EU leaders cannot claim to be committed to keeping Europe safe from the increased risk of fires while pushing countries towards austerity measures which leave public services understaffed.”
The European Federation of Public Service Unions general secretary Jan Willem Goudriaan said“reducing the number of firefighters at a critical time, when climate change is increasing the number of fires, is putting the workforce at risk.
“Today firefighters are faced with wildfires even during winter, such as in Sweden. Something that has never been seen before.
The recent increase in fires and floods across Europe is not just a natural catastrophe but were caused by humans, he said.
“Governments are making it impossible for these catastrophes to be contained or stopped by significantly decreasing the workforce, therefore causing both increased exposure to the few firefighters working and increased psychosocial risks.”
