Close X
Sunday, December 1, 2024
ADVT 
National

South African Crews Helping Fight Fort McMurray Fire Going Home Early

Darpan News Desk, 09 Jun, 2016 12:30 PM
    EDMONTON — A group that employs 300 South African firefighters on loan to Alberta to battle the Fort McMurray blaze says it is bringing its workers home after they complained about what they are being paid.
     
    The organization Working on Fire says senior managers have been sent to Canada to address concerns and oversee the return to South Africa after a week on the job.
     
    An Alberta government spokesman says some of the firefighters refused to work on Wednesday.
     
    Working on Fire says an agreement that was signed called for the firefighters to earn their normal stipend, plus any overtime, as members of South Africa's public works department.
     
    They also were to receive an additional $50 a day in two separate payments: $15 while in Canada and the remaining $35 after returning home.
     
    Firefighter Ditiro Moseki told Edmonton radio station CHED that he has been working 12 hours a day and gets paid $50 a day.
     
    Moseki says a news story he and some of his co-workers saw from South Africa says the employer is paying them $21 an hour.
     
    “They have gone to the media and tell the media that they are going to pay us $21 per hour,” Moseki said Wednesday. “So, comparing the $21 per hour to that $50 that they are going to give us today, there is a serious difference there.”
     
    Working on Fire says it never agreed to pay anyone $21 an hour.
     
     
    "This was discussed with firefighters before their departure to Canada and everyone signed this agreement," the organization said in a statement Thursday.
     
    Spokesman Linton Rensburg added in an email to The Canadian Press that the firefighters normal stipend is the Canadian equivalent of between $200 and $1,200 a month depending on rank. 
     
    The Alberta government is not part of the pay dispute, provincial spokesperson Renato Gandia said.
     
    "We have a contract with the South African government based on a rate per day per firefighter," Gandia said in a statement to CTV News. "We're paying that rate.
     
    "It is our understanding these firefighters are being paid what they agreed to before they arrived, but if there is a disagreement here, it's between the firefighters and their employer, not with the government of Alberta."
     
    The South Africans' deployment in Alberta started with much fanfare when they arrived at the Edmonton airport May 29. The firefighters sang and danced and expressed their excitement at being able to help.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Trudeau Called Upon To Go Where Harper Wouldn't On Afghan Detainee Investigation

    OTTAWA — A coalition of human rights advocates and current and former parliamentarians and diplomats is calling on the Liberals to launch a public inquiry into the handling of Afghan detainees.

    Trudeau Called Upon To Go Where Harper Wouldn't On Afghan Detainee Investigation

    General Motors To Announce 1,000 New Jobs In Oshawa: Media Reports

    General Motors To Announce 1,000 New Jobs In Oshawa: Media Reports
    OSHAWA, Ont. — Published reports say General Motors Canada is expected to announce up to 1,000 new jobs this week.

    General Motors To Announce 1,000 New Jobs In Oshawa: Media Reports

    Alberta Considers Fencing Off Calving Pens For Caribou In Impacted Forests

    Alberta Considers Fencing Off Calving Pens For Caribou In Impacted Forests
    EDMONTON — Alberta is considering fencing off large areas of northern woodlands to preserve threatened caribou herds on some of the most heavily impacted lands in the province.

    Alberta Considers Fencing Off Calving Pens For Caribou In Impacted Forests

    Residents To Take Stock, Retrieve Belongings In Hardest-hit Fort McMurray Areas

    FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — Residents of three neighbourhoods most badly damaged by a Fort McMurray wildfire are expected to get a look at their homes — or what's left of them — today.

    Residents To Take Stock, Retrieve Belongings In Hardest-hit Fort McMurray Areas

    Federal Photo-Matching Scheme Quietly Singles Out Passport Fraudsters

    Federal Photo-Matching Scheme Quietly Singles Out Passport Fraudsters
    OTTAWA — Federal officials used photo-matching technology to identify 15 high-risk people — all wanted on immigration warrants — who used false identities to apply for travel documents.

    Federal Photo-Matching Scheme Quietly Singles Out Passport Fraudsters

    Privacy Laws, Bureaucracy Make Canada A Challenging Place For Solving Cold Cases

    Privacy Laws, Bureaucracy Make Canada A Challenging Place For Solving Cold Cases
    He mapped her movements through her downtown neighbourhood, plotted his attack, then savagely struck one August night in 1983. When he was done, Susan Tice lay sexually assaulted, stabbed and breathing her last in her own bedroom.

    Privacy Laws, Bureaucracy Make Canada A Challenging Place For Solving Cold Cases