Union learning courses for the retained duty system (RDS)

Conference is aware of the extensive education programme that the Fire Brigades Union offers; these courses are essential for both Members and Officials, and greatly aid Members to be as effective as possible.

Unfortunately, these courses aren’t as accessible for some RDS Members/ Officials, due to the nature of their primary employment. Some RDS Members willing to undertake Union learning are at a detriment of having to either use holiday leave from work or take unpaid leave, this can be off-putting. Wholetime personnel have the ability to use Trade Union Leave, allowing them to be released from duty, thus not impacting on their pay.

Conference instructs the Executive Council to explore different options to make these vital courses accessible for our RDS Members and Officials, whether this is in the form of alternative delivery (evening/weekend courses, on and offline), modular e-Learning packages or regional sessions.