Crews banned from using the word 'fireman' and gossiping at Greater Manchester Fire Service

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Use of the term "fireman" is to be banned within Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service. In a memo to staff Chief Fire Officer, Dave Russel, says its connotation is 'sexist, exclusionary, and a form of micro-aggression' which is damaging the culture of the service.

He indicates that any breach of the order could result in disciplinary action. He adds that "gossip" will also "not be tolerated".

He says: "Whilst it would be naive of me to think it doesn't exist in all organisations, its unhelpfully magnified in GMFRS and often manifests itself negatively towards staff from under-represented groups.

Gossip is damaging - it is hurtful, divisive and goes against our values of honesty, inclusivity, and respsect." Read more: 'They broke into the window and made this f****** mess' - Owner of bakery shares heartbreak after burglary Commenting on the term fireman he says in the memo: "This is a term I'd not heard for 15 years prior to joing GMFRS, yet here, it regularly slips into people's every day vocabulary, a 'cultural blind spot' and its use is very often untoticed and unchallenged because it's just become 'the way things are around here'. "But its connotation is sexist, exclusionary, and represents a form of mirco-aggression that is damaging to our culture.