A workplace assessment of the Sackville Fire Department will hear from former firefighters after all.
When Montana Consulting Group of Moncton began their assessment of the Sackville Fire Department in response to allegations of sexism and bullying in the organization, they reached out by email to current firefighters, requesting in person interviews to take place this week. But as reported by Warktimes, the former firefighters who first raised concerns about sexism and bullying did not receive similar invitations at the same time.
That will soon change, according to a statement published Tuesday on the town of Sackville website. The town says that the consulting team, “will be reaching out directly to those members who have left the department within the last two years.”
Members who left more than two years ago will not be contacted by the consultants, but are being invited to send in their concerns and reasons for leaving via confidential email to morinp@montanahr.com.
Allegations of bullying and harassment first came to light against the Sackville fire department in a series of stories published by local reporter Bruce Wark in April. Shortly thereafter, the town decided to hire Montana to conduct a “comprehensive workplace assessment” of the fire department.
The letter from Montana to current firefighters indicated that the consultants would not be investigating specific allegations. However a statement from the town on April 27th seems to indicate that validity of recent allegations will be established. The statement reads, “a review process is now underway to understand if there is validity in these complaints, and to identify and recommend areas of improvement.”
