Lib Dem County Councillors David Simpson and Adrian Collett are calling on residents in North East Hampshire to sign the petition below to stop an EU law being enforced which would prevent local firefighters from being 'on call', and having full-time jobs outside the fire service.
A number of villages in North East Hampshire depend on 'retained' firefighters like these. If an EU law limiting working hours to 48 per week is enforced in full, fewer firefighters will be available to local fire stations.
Cllr Simpson, who is also a member of Hampshire Fire & Rescue Authority, said, "In rural areas like ours those firefighters on call can mean the difference between life and death. Please sign our petition below."
I/we, the undersigned, support the Liberal Democrats' call for retained firefighters to keep the right to opt out of the Working Time Directive.