Minister Asks SA Not to Condemn Firefighters Returning to SA

The almost 300 South African firefighters deployed in Canada to help with wildfires there have been demobilised and are arriving home tomorrow, according to the minister of environmental affairs, who asked South Africa not to condemn the firefighters for what happened in Canada.

“Condemning them for disappointing us can only demoralise them despite their successful track-record,” minister Edna Molewa said in a statement on Monday.

Molewa said the firefighters’ return followed the arrival in Canada late last week of a mediator from the Working on Fire group, Mr Trevor Abrahams, whom she had sent to assist in resolving the dispute that had arisen among the firefighters.

On Wednesday and Thursday, he firefighters refused to work after it emerged in the media that they were being paid less than was reported in the media, and far less than the minimum wage in the Canadian province of Alberta, where they were battling the fires.

Molewa said Abrahams, accompanied by a team from Working on Fire, as well as the SA High Commission to Canada had met with the firefighters to address their concerns.

While the negotiations were aimed at “normalising the situation” so that the firefighters could continue battling the fires, their help was no longer necessary because heavy rains in the area had curbed the fires.

“We are immensely proud of our well-trained fire-fighters who have done excellent work over a number of years, which has been recognized by the international fire fighting community,” said Molewa.

“We call upon the nation not to condemn the fire-fighters. Condemning them for disappointing us can only demoralise them despite their successful track-record. Upon their arrival at home, we will engage in the appropriate manner in which they should raise any legitimate concerns in future, should they have any,” she said.

She added that the management of Working on Fire had assured the firefighters that there would be an internal inquiry.

“Rest assured, our number one priority is and always was around the well-being of our fire fighters and to ensure the longevity of the Working on Fire programme.”