‘Homophobia in fire service unacceptable’ – Government
February 19th, 2009
The fire service in the UK must do more to support gay and lesbian firefighters, says Fire Minister Sadiq Khan.
In an open letter to every Fire and Rescue Service in England, Khan has encouraged all chief fire officers to sign up to Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme and take action to tackle inequality and homophobia.
Currently only 20 of the 36 Services have signed up to the Stonewall programme.
“A survey of Fire & Rescue Service staff commissioned by the Government and published last year showed that gay people have experienced homophobia in the workplace,” says Khan in the letter.
“My message is clear - such attitudes are not acceptable in the 21st century. Bullying, harassment and discrimination have no place in the modern Fire and Rescue Service; these behaviours will not be tolerated and I expect to see them eradicated.
“If we are to attract and recruit the best people to the Fire and Rescue Service from the widest pool of talent then all must know that they are welcome, that there is equality of opportunity and they will be treated with dignity and respect. Their sexual orientation is an irrelevance.
The Fire Brigades Union estimates that just 150 of its 46,000 uniformed workforce are openly gay – approximately 0.3%.
Co-signatories of the letter are Stonewall, the Local Government Association, the Chief Fire Officers’ Association, the Fire Brigades Union, UNISON, the Asian Fire Service Association, the Fire Officers’ Association, the GMB, the National Disabled Fire Association, Networking Women in the Fire Service, and the Retained Firefighters Union.
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