Posted: Friday 19 June 2020, 08:44
Today Derbyshire’s Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive Gavin Tomlinson is attending the Service’s Multi-Cultural Staff Network Meeting, the first meeting since the Black Lives Matters Movement and the tragic death of George Floyd.
The Service’s quarterly Multi-Cultural Network provides employees from across the Service the opportunity to come together to discuss issues, share ideas and raise awareness, as well as providing a voice for underrepresented groups within the workplace and wider community.
Today’s meeting provides CFO Tomlinson with the opportunity to speak face-to-face with members of staff to affirm not only his own support to Black Lives Matter, but that of the Service too.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, CFO Tomlinson said: “Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service is proud to serve its diverse communities and stands united with the Black Lives Matter movement against all forms of racial prejudice and discrimination. We stand together as one to keep Derbyshire’s communities and residents safe and to ensure their needs are at the heart of everything we do.
“We embrace inclusion and reject racism, which has no place in our society.
“I’m proud to lead a Service where everyone works hard to make sure no one is treated unfairly, where everyone has the same access to opportunities and we recognise and embrace people’s differences. I am committed to continually challenge our customs and practices to ensure all forms of implicit and explicit discrimination are identified and removed. I will ensure that we continue this support for all of our employees and the communities we serve by continuing to champion all of our employee networks, continued staff inclusion training, facilitating firefighter awareness days and ensuring our attendance at multi faith and other key community events continues.”