Today, two damning reports have been published revealing the extent of bullying, harassment and sexism in North and Mid and West Wales fire and rescue services.
Mid and West Wales service has been described as a ‘boys club’, with nearly half (47%) of survey respondents reporting personal experiences with bullying and harassment in the service since June 2021.
Firefighters reported that senior management presided over a ‘culture of fear and mistrust’.
Bullying and harassment remains "widespread" in North Wales fire service, with over two-fifths (42%) of survey respondents reporting personal experiences since June 2021.
Nepotism was found to be rife in the service, with respondents reporting intimidation and abuses of power from senior leaders.
Gareth Tovey, FBU executive council member for Wales said:
The independent culture reviews into North Wales and Mid and West Wales fire and rescue services point to systemic failures in senior management. Firefighters deserve better than this.
The Fire Brigades Union, and our equalities sections, have long raised the alarm around bullying, harassment and discrimination. We stand firmly with the victims of this appalling behaviour, and FBU reps continue to fight tirelessly for members who face misogyny, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism.
Senior leaders in Mid and West Wales continue to preside over a ‘boys club’, resisting change and creating a culture of fear and mistrust. It is shocking and unacceptable that 10% of women have reported experiencing sexual harassment.
Urgent action must be taken to tackle misogyny in both services.
Bullying and harassment continue to be widespread, experienced or witnessed by around half of survey respondents in both services.
Firefighters must be able to trust that they will be protected from mistreatment at work, that processes are fair, and leaders are held to account.
This weekend, North Wales’s deputy chief has been suspended following allegations of historic homophobic social media posts. The FBU condemns this unacceptable behaviour and stands in solidarity with all LGBT+ firefighters and fire service employees.
Fire services in Wales are in desperate need of lasting change at the top, and the Welsh government must listen to the voice of the frontline. We cannot expect the same leaderships who have presided over these problems to solve them – and the FBU is ready to play a leading role in transforming our service.”
Ben Selby, Fire Brigades Union assistant general secretary said:
It is unacceptable that firefighters are facing harassment, discrimination and bullying in fire and rescue service across Wales. Everyone should be able to go to work without fear of mistreatment or abuse because of their gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability or neurodivergence.
Fire service leaders are failing to protect workforces across the UK. Firefighters have been fighting injustices at work for decades, but for far too long senior management figures have been part of the problem.
Since 2010, cuts to firefighter numbers and the scrapping of diversity targets has contributed to a stalling of progress on equalities. We need to transform how fire services are run, with professional standards to hold services to account.
The Fire Brigades Union is determined to lead the way in transforming the fire and rescue service. Our elected equalities representatives must be centrally involved in shaping the next steps."
