Singing South African firefighters back home after pay dispute
Internal inquiry promised over events leading to dispute over money
The South African firefighters who made headlines for their singing and then for refusing to work have arrived back home after leaving Canada following a pay dispute.
The 300 firefighters were welcomed home by the South African government with a message posted on Twitter by the Environmental Affairs department.
The tweet was posted at 1 a.m. MT, Tuesday and included a photo of the firefighters with a caption "Tired, jet lagged but mission accomplished!"
A couple of responses to the tweet questioned the caption considering the firefighters left Alberta after expressing dissatisfaction over their daily pay stipend of $50 a day.
Tired, jetlagged but Mission Accomplished! <a href="https://twitter.com/wo_fire">@wo_fire</a> team home from helping Canada battle wildlifes <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FirefightersHome?src=hash">#FirefightersHome</a> <a href="https://t.co/IRsfoAzEmk">pic.twitter.com/IRsfoAzEmk</a>
—@environmentzaThough the stipend was in addition to what they make at home, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said she was "disturbed" by the amount of pay which she said was unacceptable.
Cheryl Oates, a spokesperson for the premier, said the Alberta Government has since been assured by the firefighters' employer, Working on Fire, that the pay issue will be settled.
Oates said that Working on Fire had made it clear to the province that it would now pay the firefighters at least the minimum wage in Alberta for every hour worked on the Fort McMurray fire.
Working on Fire, which has not responded to interview requests from CBC, has always maintained that salary was discussed with the firefighters before their deployment to Canada and that they all signed a contract.
Oates said the Alberta Government has asked to receive a confirmation when the firefighters have been paid at least the minimum wage which is $11.20 an hour.
Working on Fire, which is a government-funded job creation program that employs the firefighters has apologized to Canadians.
A statement on Friday said it's "extremely disappointed" the controversy could not be settled internally before it "escalated into an international incident."
Our national anthem from <a href="https://twitter.com/wo_fire">@wo_fire</a> team before boarding return flight to SA <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FirefightersWelcome?src=hash">#FirefightersWelcome</a> <a href="https://t.co/oDSF7rMMaU">pic.twitter.com/oDSF7rMMaU</a>
—@environmentzaMeanwhile the Minister of Environmental Affairs in South Africa was quoted in another message on the department's Twitter feed calling on the public not to condemn the firefighters, which she said could "demoralize them".
Minister Edna Molewa is now handling the file after being directed to intervene by South African President Jacob Zuma.
The ministry announced it would be talking to the firefighters about how to raise "legitimate concerns" in the future.
The department also said the firefighters employer, Working on Fire will be doing an internal inquiry to figure out how the pay dispute arose.