This morning, fire chief Tijs van Lieshout resigned from a firefighter at a barracks in the city due to dereliction of duty. According to sources, he has repeatedly expressed himself as racist and discriminatory. The firefighter was also a member of the works council. There are concerns that the announced dismissal will lead to unrest among the turn-out service.
The firefighter has been employed by the Amsterdam-Amstelland fire brigade for over twenty years. He would have regularly made racist and discriminatory statements on, among other things, the intranet of the Amsterdam fire brigade, sources report. AT5. Many are not surprised that this firefighter has to leave now. He would have been making statements that are on or over the edge for much longer. He would invariably end statements with that it is his opinion. “That’s how he covers himself,” sources said. The subversive behavior has been experienced as disruptive for some time.
For years
Internal reports state that the fire service does not tolerate the firefighter’s behavior and therefore feels compelled to proceed with dismissal. “Our commander has been personally talking to him about this for several years and now it was enough, as a result of another reaction on the intranet to colleagues, which has now also been removed,” can be read in a statement from a cluster manager. “Everyone is always allowed to express their opinion, but if it turns out that you are harming someone else, this will not be tolerated.”
There are concerns about the unrest that the announced layoff may cause. “I can imagine that this message will stir emotions and keep people busy in the coming period. I therefore hope that we will continue to discuss this with each other and that if there are any further questions/comments, you will know how to contact the commanders and me. find,” the cluster manager writes.
Because the firefighter is also a Works Council member, his dismissal has been discussed with the safety board. Mayor Halsema is the chairman of this. The security board has approved the intended decision of commander Van Lieshout. The last straw was the racist statements towards the head of the operational department and reactions on the intranet about diversity, according to a well-informed source.
Officially, the firefighter has been given notice of dereliction of duty as a civil servant. This decision is independent of his functioning as a Works Council member and firefighter. “He has always done that well,” according to a message from the cluster manager. After the announcement by Van Lieshout, the firefighter left the barracks. There is no question of instant dismissal, the police force management wants to give the employee time to think about an objection. He is therefore exempt from work for at least two weeks.
file
A spokesman for the fire brigade confirms the announced dismissal, but cannot say much more about it. “We do not say anything about an individual case. In general, I can say that in order to reach such a drastic decision, there must be a file that has been running for a long time, in which an employee has also been approached several times.”
The spokesperson says about the unrest: “Such a radical decision naturally evokes all kinds of reactions/emotions and questions within the organization. After all, it concerns a colleague. The force management understands that very well.”
Culture
The announced dismissal is a new chapter of the turbulent time at the Amsterdam fire brigade that has been going on for years.
Six years ago, Leen Schaap was appointed commander to make a clean sweep at the. Sheep enjoyed little confidence during the turn-out service. A stalemate between the leadership and the firefighters resulted in Schaap’s departure. Tijs van Lieshout became the new commander and is known for his milder leadership style.
AT5 has repeatedly contacted the firefighter in question, but received no response.