Fire crews 'face sack over Euro opt-out' (From The Northern Echo)

Fire crews 'face sack over Euro opt-out'

10:07am Wednesday 18th February 2009 in

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HUNDREDS of firefighters across the region face the sack if new European rules to limit working hours cannot be blocked, the Government has claimed.

Part-time firefighters – many of whom hold down full-time day jobs – would be hit by Brussels’ attempts to make it illegal for anyone to work for more than 48 hours a week, ministers said.

The change would hit hardest in rural areas where fire authorities depend on retained staff who juggle two jobs.

In County Durham, 30.4 per cent of firefighters work part time, while in North Yorkshire the figure is 54.7 per cent.

Ministers are now scrabbling to reach a compromise with the European Commission before a deadline of fresh elections to the Brussels Parliament in June.

Pat McFadden, Employment Relations Minister, said one in ten retained firefighters already worked more than 48 hours in their main jobs, with a further 25 per cent working 41 hours or more.

He told MPs: “It is clear what effect the opt-out could have on that group of workers.”

That message was echoed by John Barton, general secretary of the Retained Firefighters’ Union (RFU), who said: “If we lost this opt-out, then the retained fire service becomes unviable.

“If people are using up to 48 hours in their primary employment, they haven’t got any hours left to devote to public service.”

North-East union leaders fear the directive could cost lives in the countryside, where stations may have to recruit retained firefighters from a wider area.

Kevin Shaw, the Fire Brigade Union’s secretary in County Durham and Darlington, said: “We have serious concerns. In County Durham, we have seven fully-retained stations and nine where one pump is retained, so it could make things very difficult.

“This could affect response times in country areas and the consequence could be that lives could be lost. If people have a full-time job, they will only be able to offer eight hours a week – and that would have a major impact on our service.”

Colin Chadfield, from North Yorkshire Fire Brigade, said: “Retained staff may only attend a fire two times a month, but they are available on call all week. We simply could not afford to replace them with full-time staff.”

North-East MEP Stephen Hughes said: “This anxiety is groundless. The regulations are waived if property, life or limbs are at risk.

“We recognise that you cannot have firefighters walking out in the middle of a blaze.”

During a Commons debate on the controversy, Mr Mc- Fadden said that retaining the opt-out was important, citing an example where someone was made redundant, and their partner needed to work overtime to bring more money in.

Retained firefighters earn £5,000 to £8,000 a year for agreeing to be available for up to 120 hours a week, according to the RFU.