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Retained firefighters
23/03/2009
The Scottish Government remains opposed to moves by the European Parliament to limit the right of Scotland's 3,500 retained and volunteer firefighters to determine their working hours.
Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing today told retained duty system (RDS) officers in Aberdeen, that Scottish Ministers were continuing to work with Westminster to keep the UK 'opt-out' to the working-time directive.
Mr Ewing said:
"The Scottish Government and the general public recognise and greatly appreciate the individual commitment of RDS firefighters - 400 of them in Grampian, more than 3,000 nationally - and the nearly 500 volunteers across Scotland.
"Simply balancing work and family life with the requirements of RDS life is, in itself, a challenge. For your families, I know your fire-fighting role will often mean interrupted social events, reheating meals, looking after the kids and finishing the shopping on their own
"Yet with the support of your families, you not only meet this challenge, but do so with such a consistent professionalism of which you can all be rightly proud.
"Of course, an effective retained duty system requires ongoing support and commitment from primary employers. In today's economic climate, as businesses face increasing pressures, it's encouraging to see that this support remains strong.
"The Fire Service acknowledges that it is flexibility that allows them to deliver the retained duty system and it is flexibility that allows you to choose to undertake a retained fire-fighting role
"Abolition of the opt-out would restrict the choice of individuals to work overtime, restrict flexibility and, by having such an impact on the retained duty system, could ultimately put the service at risk.
"That's why we are working with the UK Government to oppose the proposed removal of the opt-out. We will continue do so until we achieve a satisfactory outcome that safeguards our fire & rescue service and ultimately our communities."
Mr Ewing was addressing the Grampian RDS seminar as part of a series of visits and meetings in the city about the work of Grampian Fire & Rescue Service.
The European Working Time Directive (EWTD), introduced in 1993, sets a maximum average working week of 48 hours and was later incorporated into UK law (Working Time Regulations 1988) with the right to a voluntary opt-out.
On December 17, 2008 the European Parliament voted through amendments to the Council of Ministers' Common Position on the European Working Time Directive (EWTD), in particular that: the opt-out should be phased out within three years.
Scotland has a higher proportion of retained and volunteer firefighters compared with other parts of the UK and taken together these two duty systems provide around 90 per cent of Scotland's land mass fire cover. Over 40 per cent of the total operational fire workforce in Scotland is employed on the retained duty system (RDS), who are 'on-call' from their own homes or primary employers.