Fire boss warns of disastrous effect on Shropshire fire cover if 48 hour opt out is lost
March 25, 2009 12:00 AM
COUNCIL TAX 'COULD DOUBLE'
Shropshire's Deputy Chief Fire Officer has warned that the cost of maintaining emergency fire cover could be equivalent to doubling Shropshire's Council Tax if retained firefighters are forced to comply with the 48 hour limit in the Working Time Directive.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Paul Raymond has given his full backing to a campaign by county Euro MP Liz Lynne to preserve the opt out of the 48 hour week limit in the Working Time Directive for retained firecrew. The Lib Dem MEP is fighting a tough battle in Brussels to keep this Opt Out after a vote by the European Parliament to scrap it. The vote was opposed by Liz Lynne and the UK government but supported by many Labour MEPs.
Speaking after a meeting at Bridgnorth Fire Station, Liz Lynne said: "Senior fire officers in many brigades are now very concerned at the threat to fire cover outside major towns. It is vital that we make clear to Gordon Brown that lives would be at risk.
"I am fighting as hard as I can in Brussels to keep our Opt Out in the conciliation process, but we need ministers to hold the line in the negotiations. They have to deal with me as they cannot rely on support from Labour MEPs who voted to scrap the opt out of the 48 hour limit in the Directive."
"Losing the opt out would also hurt many working people who wish to work overtime. I have always argued that the opt out of the 48 hour limit in EU Working Time rules must be kept, so long as the decision to opt out is voluntary. This applies not just to firefighters but anyone who wants to work extra hours. Why should people not be allowed to work overtime if they want to? Scrapping the opt out could push people into illegal work where they are not covered by Health and Safety legislation including the dangerous machinery directive."
Mr Raymond spelled out the dire effects a 48 hour limit would have for Shropshire's fire service at a meeting with Liz Lynne and lead councillors from Shropshire Fire Authority at Bridgnorth Fire Station.
He said: "This time limit would have devastating consequences. Retained firefighters crew all but one of our fire stations in Shropshire - providing thousands of hours emergency cover per week. Bridgnorth is a typical example, with 16 crew. These retained fire-fighters are on call to respond to emergencies from home and work and most already work around 42 hours per week for their main employer, with the three hours per week training they do for us that leaves very little time for them to attend emergencies and carry out vital fire prevention work.
"Last year Bridgnorth attended 308 emergency incidents. Even if averaged over a year, under a 48 hour limit our retained firefighters could only cover half of them. A completely full time service in Shropshire giving the same level of cover in remote rural areas would cost significantly more for the tax payer at the very time when we are looking to make our service even more efficient."
"THIS COULD WIPE US OUT"
Shropshire RFU chairman and Bridgnorth Firefighter David Jennings said: "A change to legislation like this would wipe us out. We would also lose 1292 hours we worked on community fire safety last year, on home risk assessments and Crucial Crew and so on."
Liz Lynne and the LibDems have launched a national petition to keep the Opt Out of the 48 hour limit in the Working Time Directive, working with the Retained Firefighters Union
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