HRFU

		Hampshire RDS Fire Fighters Resource

NAVIGATION

This website represents the views of Hampshire Retained Fire Fighters Union

The following text has been taken from the Retained Firefighters Union own website.

The Retained Firefighters Union (RFU) was formed in 1976 due to the pending strike action which eventually took place in 1977 and lasted for 9 weeks. Retained firefighters throughout the UK could not and would not strike leaving their communities without an emergency service. Our members will not ignore the calls of help from the public whom we serve and who pay our salaries. Floods, Fire, RTA’s and Co-responder emergencies do not recognise strike so neither does the RFU. So a union, the RFU, with a no-strike constitution was born.

The first perception of being a non-strike union is that people say “…if you are a non-strike union you are toothless, you’ve nothing to use as a weapon against the brigade.” This is not true; there are many ways of challenging unnecessary brigade changes in the fire service. Our methods include using consultation, the media and most important the strength of feeling from our friends and neighbours in the community. As a last resort legal proceedings have in the past proven to be as instrumental in getting the job done as threatening strike action. This has gained the RFU a great deal of respect from Chief Fire Officers and elected members around the country, oh, and it doesn’t risk anyone’s life or property in the process. We also believe that the partnership approach is likely to lead to longer-lasting agreements and stability. The power of argument is more powerful in the longer run than the argument of power.

The RFU is run for the Retained by the Retained, the majority of the staff at our head office are, or have been Retained firefighters so there is no better understanding of how the Retained system works and how the Retained personnel are best served than by the RFU. As you probably know 60% of appliances are crewed by Retained. Unfortunately the general public still are not aware that Retained firefighters exist let alone that their local fire station is a Retained one!! We strive to make sure they do.



Click on the above link to visit the RFU's website

Why Join A Union?

First they came for the Communists but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out.

Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists but I was not one of them, so I did not speak out.

Then they came for the Jews but I was not Jewish so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.

Martin Niemoeller

© HRFU 2005