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Parliamentary question - E-006349/2018Parliamentary question
E-006349/2018

Adverse effects on the health of professional firefighters in the Rhone department and Greater Lyon area

Question for written answer E-006349-18
to the Commission
Rule 130
Christine Revault d'Allonnes Bonnefoy (S&D)

The Rhone and Greater Lyon fire and rescue service, the SDMIS, is staffed by professional firefighters, both men and women, working 24 hour or 12 hour shifts at their fire stations and voluntary firefighters who are either on duty at their fire station, or on call with a beeper to which they must respond within 10 minutes at the most after it sounds.

On 10 December 2018, a court ruled in a ‘référé-liberté’ emergency interim injunction that steps taken by the authorities in response to an industrial dispute and a strike called by a trade union group are placing workers’ health at risk.

The SDMIS claims these measures are necessary due to exceptional circumstances; however it could have called on Decree No 2009‐1208 of 9 October 2009 or on the services of neighbouring departments in its efforts to overcome staff shortage problems caused by having to cover various highly publicised events and high levels of sick leave.

Do the circumstances here correspond to those cases in which, under EC law, prescriptions in Directive 2003/88/EC may be set aside?

Is it possible, in such circumstances, that firefighters may have to work 36 hours at a stretch, or 60 hours out of 72?

Last updated: 17 January 2019
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