Nine firefighters who refused to offer safety advice to people attending a gay pride march have been disciplined. A watch manager in Glasgow has been demoted to crew manager with a £5,000 salary cut. The remaining firefighters were given a written warning.
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said all nine would undergo diversity training.
A spokesman said: "The nine now accept that they should have performed their duties. Their refusal was a fundamental breach of their core responsibilities."
The nine firefighters are based at Cowcaddens and were asked to distribute community safety advice to people attending the Pride Scotia festival in George Square on 24 June. The fire service spokesman said: "Firefighters cannot, and will not, pick and choose to whom they offer fire safety advice. Strathclyde Fire and Rescue has a responsibility to protect every one of the 2.3m people it serves, irrespective of race, religion or sexuality."
The Fire Brigades Union in Scotland said it would be waiting until the individual members had been contacted before commenting.
Chairman Roddy Robertson said one option for the men would be to appeal against the verdict.
that's mean of them firemen..tacky tacky..
ReplyDeleteIt's a well known fact that gays and lesbians all know about fire procedures !
ReplyDeleteJust kidding