For the first time in France, a group of volunteer firefighters –the CGT SPV collective in the Pyrénées-Orientales- has been invited to the major annual meeting of all the CGT branches within the SDIS. "This is a first; it's never happened before"says a member of the executive committee. Adjutant Frédéric Nussbaum, the collective’s general secretary and a volunteer firefighter for the past 18 years, will be accepting the invitation in order to "to convince other departments of the value of a collective for the SPVs".
The collective CGT SPV 66 was established in late 2016. As the first national trade union of its kind in the Pyrénées-Orientales, it brings together both women and men, from firefighters to officers.
"We are proud to be volunteer firefighters, to follow the rules, to carry out our duties with dedication and to work alongside our friends, the professional firefighters" - Adjutant Frédéric Nussbaum, the collective’s general secretary.
78 per cent of firefighters are volunteers
In France, the majority of firefighters are volunteers. According to the figures Of the members of the National Federation of French Firefighters (FNSPF), 78 per cent are volunteers, 17 per cent are professional firefighters and only 5 per cent are military personnel.
"We no longer wish to, nor can we tolerate, the precarious nature of our status, which leads to some of us being belittled, ‘sidelined’ or having our fellow volunteer firefighters forced to sleep in unsanitary fire stations, such as the one in Mont-Louis, amongst others. Thanks to our intervention, our colleagues on the Côte Vermeille have moved into a suitable fire station. Those in Barcarès are set to move into a modular building this month, whilst they await the start of construction on a new fire station." - Adjutant Frédéric Nussbaum.
In a letter recently shared on social media, the collective condemned "that certain station commanders within the Pyrénées-Orientales Fire and Rescue Service" would oppose "upon the posting of the trade union newsletter", whilst referring to a clause in a decree dated 3 April 1985 which stipulates "Registered trade union organisations … may display any trade union-related information on noticeboards set aside for this purpose, which must be in sufficient numbers, of a suitable size and arranged in such a way as to ensure the preservation of the documents".
A good working relationship between professionals and volunteers
"Unlike in other departments, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, the CGT unions representing professionals and volunteers get on very well" "Adjutant Frédéric Nussbaum told our editorial team," he added, "whilst pointing out that the vast majority of professionals have dual status (professional and volunteer)."