Issue 107 Editorial. It is a pleasure and an honour for Scottish Left Review to play its small part in helping to celebrate the centenary of the Fire Brigades’ Union (FBU). We are grateful for the cooperation and support of the FBU in Scotland and Britain in order that we could do this. There have […]
From a perspective of understanding the past, Denise Christie assesses the present and future of the union and service in Scotland. When all is said and done, firefighting comes down to this: that a small number of people will go into a darkened, smoke-logged building, not knowing what they are going to meet, having faith […]
Ian Murray outlines the struggles the FBU is undertaking for its members and for the general public. This is an historic year for the FBU – our centenary as a union of firefighters, for firefighters and run by firefighters across Britain. I am proud to be the union’s senior elected lay official in this year […]
Matt Wrack looks back on the past, analyses the present and examines the future. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is relatively small compared to the big general unions but to have lasted a hundred years as an industry-specific organisation is some achievement, especially in light of the long history of union mergers. We have much […]
In Focus Productions for the FBU The Firefighters’ Story: 100 years of the FBU, 2018 Reviewed by Bob Thomson This is an interesting and, at times poignant, short film, reminding us of the courage and sacrifices shown by firefighters. It traces the history of the FBU since its inception at the end of the First […]
Lindsey McDowell explains the big perspective that lies behind the FBU’s educational work. There’s an old adage that ‘education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire’. It speaks wisely. Learning should make us full of energy and change us in a way there’s no going back from, not leave […]
Chris McGlone reflects on his working life as a firefighter and the changes he has witnessed. Certain events and times in your life demand you take stock and reflect. 2018 is just such a time. It marks the centenary of our great organisation, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). It also represents a landmark in my […]
From Dundee to Nablus, Jim Malone shows what solidarity, not sympathy, looks like. In 1982, at the TUC Congress, Ken Cameron, FBU General Secretary and a member of the Trade Union Friends of Palestine, tabled an emergency motion which condemned Israel’s brutal invasion of its neighbour Lebanon and recognised ‘the national rights of the Palestinian […]
David Adams outlines how and why fire engines have developed over the years. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Heritage Trust, which is affiliated to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SF&RS), and is a registered Scottish Charity (SCO43929), operates a preservation through operation policy, whereby our fleet of historical fire engines is kept in […]
Scottish Left Review interviews Bob Thomson as he steps down at the age of 75 from the leading role he has played for the magazine for the last 18 years. Bob retired in 1999 as Associate Scottish Secretary of UNISON and since then he has taken on an almost full-time and never paid role as […]