Speaking in the House of Commons, Mike Penning tells of his concern for the firefighting capability in this country should the EU plan to axe the Working Time Directive opt-out go ahead.

Speaking in an Opposition Day debate, former firefighter and local MP, Mike Penning has condemned EU plans to axe the opt-out of the Working Time Directive.

He told MPs:
“There was something I could not understand when I first looked at the problems facing us: why were we in this country being affected so badly compared with other EU countries? The reason is simple. We pay our firefighters well, whether they are whole-time or retained. It is not a huge amount of money, but they are paid and they get a pension. As a result, our firefighters are completely different from those in the rest of the European Union.”

Afterwards, Mike said:
“We are being penalised for treating our retained firefighters fairly. The situation is simple, if the retained firefighters didn’t want to work the hours they do, they wouldn’t do it. They don’t need the protection of an EU regulation.

“It is ridiculous when a system that has been operating successfully for a long time and is supported by all those who work in it is forced to change simply because of bureaucratic red tape. This is not what the EU is supposed to be about.”

There are two retained fire stations in the Hemel Hempstead constituency – Markyate and Kings Langley.