The membership of the Greek firefighter union E.P.A.Y.P.S. will become active as of January 1 2025.

The E.P.A.Y.P.S., Greek Association of Graduate Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of the Fire Service, is a panhellenic trade union based in Athens, representing officers and non-commissioned officers of the Hellenic Fire Service with higher education degrees. It is led by its President Antonios Koukouzas and Secretary General Iasonas (Jason) Aliferis.

The primary objective of the E.P.A.Y.P.S. is the improvement of working conditions in fire fighting services, providing continuous professional development and ensuring members’ participation in key decision-making processes in national fire fighting administrations.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “We warmheartedly welcome the Greek firefighter E.P.A.Y.P.S. in our European CESI trade union family. Greece is a country where civil protection and the management of natural disasters, including especially through wild fires in the summer seasons, regularly dominate the political agenda. As such, the membership of the E.P.A.Y.P.S. further enhances and boosts our European work in this subject area, and E.P.A.Y.P.S. will benefit from support of other fire fighter unions in further countries organised in CESI. Together, we are all stronger, and we look forward to our future collaboration and cooperation.”