RETAINED FIREFIGHTERS AND WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE OPT-OUT

That this House notes with regret the vote by the European Parliament on 17 December 2008 which voted in favour of removing Britain's Working Time Directive opt-out; further notes with serious concern the removal of this opt-out will have on retained firefighters across Scotland, and the consequences the removal of the opt-out may have on public health and safety; further notes that of 391 fire stations across Scotland 321 are staffed by 3,429 retained firefighters; further notes the valuable service these volunteer firefighters provide to their communities; further notes that the Retained Firefighters Union (RFU) opposes the removal of the opt-out and that if the opt-out is removed and retained duty system fire stations are proven unviable under the Working Time Directive, 91 per cent. of the UK land mass will lose valuable emergency fire cover; and further notes the serious and potentially fatal consequences the removal will have on communities across Scotland.