Cape Town - Firefighters deployed to Canada have returned home and will not face disciplinary action for the pay dispute that disrupted their work, Working on Fire has confirmed.
The contingent of 301 firefighters arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday morning, and then boarded buses to take them to their home provinces.
At 7pm on Tuesday, only the Western Cape firefighters were not back home.
Working on Fire spokesman Albi Modise confirmed there would be no disciplinary steps taken against the firefighters.
“Minister (of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna) Molewa has said this must be resolved amicably,” he said.
Molewa sent a management team to resolve the pay dispute which arose a week ago when the firefighters were on location in Fort McMurray, Alberta province, Canada.
Mediator Trevor Abrahams flew out to meet with the firefighters and get to the bottom of the dispute.
“It’s very clear what happened,” Abrahams said. “It is simple, and on another level, very problematic.”
The 301 firefighters had signed a contract agreeing to all the monetary details set out for their trip.
They were to be given food and accommodation by Canadian authorities, paid their normal South African salary, and also receive an out-of-country allowance of $50 (R762.92) per day, in two payments.
“We had come up with an amount that we thought was equitable and fair,” Abrahams said. “The $50 translates into almost six times the Extended Public Works Programme rate, so that was considered a good out-of-country rate.”
Then, two “disingenuous” media reports started circulating of a supposed salary increase from the Canadian government: one report from Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, and one from eNCA, Abrahams said.
“Our firefighters got onto the web and saw these reports and said 'what’s going on here?' That is what started the impasse,” he said.
But Abrahams claimed the firefighters never downed tools or officially went on strike. “In the morning they had gathered for parade and this particular morning, a lot of their songs were about the money.
“The local management elected to give them the day off instead of having them going up to the fireline with issues.
“When I met the firefighters, they said they were there to work, but we should resolve the dispute.”
Back home, he has promised the South African firefighters that they would review structures so that a communication breakdown like this would not happen again.
Cape Argus