Dear Member,
Independent review into racism within the Fire Brigades Union
The Fire Brigades Union is committed to challenging inequality, discrimination and harassment in all its forms across the UK fire and rescue service. To achieve this, it is vital that we examine our own union and members’ experiences and identify how we can collectively work together to build a stronger and more cohesive union.
That is why we have commissioned Professor Nicola Rollock and her team at NIANRO Consulting to carry out an independent review of racism across the governance and structures of the FBU. Professor Rollock is an expert in Social Policy and Race at King’s College London and has carried out similar reviews for other organisations.
About the review process
The team are interested in exploring the potential nature of racism within the FBU, who is most affected and how incidents are dealt with if they are reported.
The team will carry out a union-wide survey of members and staff and conduct a series of one-to-one interviews with a small number of colleagues.
All information shared with the team will be treated in complete confidence and any personal data shared with the team will be destroyed once the project is completed. Additionally, they will not share your name or any other identifying material with anyone within FBU. The FBU will not have access to the data at any point.
All members and colleagues in the FBU will be invited to take part in the review.
The survey will ask whether colleagues have experienced or witnessed racism in the Union, views on the processes for reporting such incidents, and thoughts about the improvements needed to ensure that the FBU addresses racism in a timely and effective manner.
The one-to-one interviews will allow colleagues to share their views in greater detail. The team hopes to speak with a broad mix of colleagues: those who believe racism to be an issue and those who do not.
What is not included in the review
NIANRO are aware of a series of recent and ongoing cases that relate to the focus of the review. While they may ask questions to understand the issues raised by these cases to help inform the review’s findings and recommendations, they cannot seek to unduly influence their direction or outcome.
If you have any questions about the review, please get in touch with the NIANRO Research Lead Motunrayo: [email protected] who will be pleased to help. All contact is treated in confidence and will be used to help inform the review’s findings.
We appreciate that members are busy and that there are several demands on your time, so thank you in advance for taking the time to participate in the review.
Please keep an eye on your email inbox over the coming months for your invite to participate in the review.
Yours in solidarity,
Steve Wright
FBU general secretary
