Kirsty Hughes shows Brexit has thrown up many more questions than answers The October summit where a Brexit deal was meant to be signed off has come and gone. Plans for an emergency November summit have been put on ice, with the EU’s regular summit in mid-December now looking the most likely end point. Uncertainty […]
Neil Davidson warns of dangers past, present and future for Corbyn, Labour and socialists For over 200 years after 1688 political governance in England, then Britain, was a relatively simple matter for British capitalism. Two parties representing different wings of the ruling class, Tories and Whigs, would alternate in office, with different emphasis reflecting their […]
Sarah Collins argues for using Brexit to sort out longstanding ailments on wages and conditions The TUC and many others are keen to highlight the potential impact that Brexit will have on workers’ rights, or the erosion thereof. In its August online briefing, the TUC noted: ‘right now, EU law protects equal pay for equal […]
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 […]
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 […]