International

After Hurricane Melissa hit the Caribbean in October, the FBU Black and Ethnic Minority Members (B&EMM) Committee launched a donation drive. BE&MM sectional chair Karen Bell reports When Hurricane Melissa hit the island of Jamaica no one could have imagined the storm’s ferocity, or the trail of...

Environmental and tax justice groups have joined the Fire Brigades Union in calling for major investment in the fire and rescue service. In a letter to the Chancellor and Environment Secretary Ed Miliband, organisations including Greenpeace, Tax Justice UK, Friends of the Earth, Tipping Point UK and...

Over 146 people are known to have died in a huge fire across multiple apartment blocks in Hong Kong. The fire broke out at at Wang Fuk Court, a residential housing complex, on Wednesday 26 November. Flames were first spotted at 14:52 local time, and had spread to two more towers within ninety...

A delegation of trade unionists led by the Justice for Colombia campaign travelled to Colombia this November. National officer Mark Rowe reports back. Justice for Colombia (JFC) was set up in 2002 by the British trade union movement to support Colombian civil society in its struggle for human rights...

In the Gaza Strip, where the relentless grind of war has erased homes, neighbourhoods, and almost entire cities, firefighters have been lifelines in a collapsed world. Gaza based journalist Ghada Abdulfattah presents a snapshot of life on the run in Gaza during the last two years, in an extract from...

French unions, including public sector unions representing firefighters, have organised nationwide strikes against government austerity this autumn: demanding a tax on the super-rich to fund services. Up to one million demonstrators took part in a strike across France on 18 September. And protesters...

Spring and summer this year were both record-breaking. Droughts and high temperatures created the perfect conditions for wildfires. Meanwhile, austerity has undermined the ability of the fire service to respond and a lack of national standards means that it’s pot luck how good your local fire cover...