State officials who now control the bankrupt Central Coventry Fire District have ordered sweeping changes in its finances.
Firefighters will work 56-hour weeks, pay more for health insurance and lose half their holidays under a receiver’s plan.
The Providence Journal reports that a plan detailed Monday says the district’s approximately 37 firefighters will receive overtime after they’ve worked 212 hours in four weeks. That’s the equivalent of more than five 40-hour workweeks.
Robert Flanders Jr. is the state-appointed bankruptcy counsel for the district. He says the changes are an attempt to run the district in a way that “makes more sense financially without compromising public safety.”
A lawyer for the receiver said the panel unsuccessfully tried to negotiate many changes with the district’s firefighters union. Negotiations are continuing.