Retained firefighters are to suspend their industrial action for a period of 24 hours on Monday to allow for talks at the Labour Court.
Their union SIPTU has accepted an invitation to talks aimed at resolving the ongoing dispute around pay, conditions and a decent work/life balance.
Retained firefighters began rolling work stoppages earlier this week and had threatened to escalate the action to an all-out strike next week.
On Tuesday the first five fire stations in Donegal closed their doors to begin their industrial action outside the Donegal fire service headquarters in Letterkenny.
The first five stations that took action included Letterkenny, Killybegs, Buncrana, Donegal Town and Dungloe.
On Wednesday stations in Milford, Ballyshannon, Glean Cholm Cille, Gaoth Dobhair and Cardonagh closed their doors followed by firefighters from Stranorlar, Bundoran, Glenties, Falcarragh and Moville on Thursday.
If Monday’s exploratory talks fail to achieve a resolution, SIPTU said the all-out strike will go ahead as planned on Tuesday.
“While our members appreciate the intervention of the Labour Court in this matter, the resolution to this dispute will be complex and difficult,” said SIPTU Public Administration and Community Division Organiser, Karan O Loughlin.
“However, the SIPTU negotiating committee have agreed to attend and will make every effort to create the space for a resolution to this dispute.”
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