Firefighters ensure financing agreement for another year

Firefighters met yesterday with President Rafael Correa after not reaching an agreement with the National Assembly.

A legal reform eliminated tax collections for firefighters in the electricity bill. Instead, firefighters had to sign payment agreements with electricity companies. The mechanism was supposed to last six months until the municipalities begin to assume such jurisdiction.

Yesterday, the President pledged to extend these agreements for another year, stating that the tax payment for firefighters would continue to be obligatory and throughout that period, municipalities will have to find a funding mechanism.

The Government will also cover the food expenses of firefighters. In Quito, for example, this value represents 70,000 dollars a month.