Fireman sacked for being too fat. Colleagues propose strike action. Do you agree?

Question

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080716/tuk-britain-strike-fire-a7ad41d.html

Are they right to strike?

Answer 1

Blokes a liability.He's 20 stone FFS!Takes time to get that heavy and he did nothing about it knowing his job depended on it."Hoist with his own petard" I say.

Answer 2

no. I want a fireman who can carry me down the ladder if its needed. not one who is too fat to even put a foot on the first rung up !!!!

Answer 3

He should be transferred to another position instead of being fired and be transferred back after loosing weight.

Answer 4

if he can do the job and is still fit then yes strike away if he is a liability then no he should have been told to diet or loose his job.

Answer 5

firefighting is one of the few professions where it is very necessary to be physically fit. more so that policework, even. I think they were right to remove him from his position, but heck they coulda offered him an admin job or something.

(actually they probably did, but that kinda story just wouldn't grab our attention now would it?)

Answer 6

No I don't agree, he is being retired on health grounds.

He will also have a good pension to look forward to and with his experience will have no trouble finding employment.

The Fire Brigade are not saying that he is unfit to do his job ...... they are merely saying that he is 'unfit' and therefore unable to do his job to the required standard. ....M xx

Edit.

*Suki*  the standard of accurate, factual journalism has diminished over the years.

Simply this ........ it would hardly be a 'newsworthy' story, but omit some facts and make it a bit controversial and you have a 'sensational' story.

Answer 7

with the difficulty in getting in to the fire brigade keeping fit should be part of the job.

Im sure he was offered help and they can only give him another job if (a) there is one and (b) he is capable of doing it.

They shouldn't strike

Answer 8

We don't know the whole story here, but in general, with so much time on the force IF there was another position available the he could do, then, "yes," I agree he should have been offered the alternative. But if there were no available positions he was qualified for, and if he had been given ample opportunity and warning to lose weight, then I don't see what options the community had.

Answer 9

I could maybe understand it if it was affecting his performance at work.

I agree with his colleagues who say he should have been offered another position in the service - especially after 20 years.

I hate to say this, but i wonder if they would have been so quick to sack him if he was non-white.........

Maxey ~ Why did they not make that more clear in the flippin article then?

Answer 10

Considering that 95% of a fireman's time is spent playing cards or sleeping - I can't see that it would have affected his work too much.

Seriously though - he was offered help which was refused or ignored and he will still get his inflated pension so I can't be sympathetic at all on this one.

Answer 11

Well it depends how "fat" he was. If he was so large that he wouldn't be able to negociate in tight spots then he would be putting himself and others in danger. Plus I would think that fire men would have to have a certain level of fitness to be able to work!

Answer 12

He needs to be fit in his line of work so he should have been sacked or given a time limit to loose the weight.

What if he was to carry one of your loved ones out a burning building and was too unfit to do it??

I do feel sorry for the guy, i'm sure we all do, but they had to let him go x

Answer 13

No one wants strikes but the Fire Service have walked right into this one. No one gets to 20 stone overnight so shouldn't this have been addressed before it reached this point, what have the management been doing up to this point? Perhaps they should be put in front of a tribunal for neglect.

Answer 14

Difficult one, but if not physically able to perform active duties as a fire fighter he is putting not only himself at risk but his colleagues and of course the public!

Answer 15

If the man is unfit and a hinderance to saving life then NO they do not have the right to strike. He could get stuck in a hallway and cost lives rather than save them.

He could always go on a diet.

Answer 16

If he becomes a danger to his fellow colleagues it would raise concerns but why not get him to loose some weight first.

Answer 17

I can see  both sides of this one. He should not have been fired after over 20 years of service. He should have been given a chance and some help with losing weight or given a supervisor's job. Yes, I can be nice as well.

Answer 18

i second nuf said's answer