Pure greed behind Fire management dispute to have over 525 City fire fighters dismissed

August 18, 2023 adminPress

12 April 2021

The South African Municipal Workers Union, representing over 80% of the operational fire fighters at the City of Cape Town, is aware that nothing but greed is behind the dismissal of over 500 fire fighters.

All City of Cape Town fire fighters and fire management up to the level of district and section heads, are receiving a 22.8% operational allowance. This operational allowance is supposed to be only for operational fire fighters and fire officers, based at City’s 32 fire stations. Fire management has manipulated the fire agreement of 2007, to benefit them. And are all receiving the 22.8% on top of their huge salaries of over a million per annum.

The City’s fighters affiliated to South African Municipal Workers Unions (SAMWU), demand to stop this fruitless and wasteful expenditure to the rate payers of Cape Town, by working with in the Basic Condition of Employment act, and only to be paid for the hours spent at work. The fire fighters want a new agreement that will benefit all parties, including a huge saving for the rate payers of Cape Town, if this allowance to the fire management is stopped. No other senior managers within the City is receiving this huge 22.8% allowances, except within in the fire service, the only Heads within City of Cape Town benchmarked at T – 17.

These District and Section Heads, earning over R800 000, 00 (eight hundred thousand) and R1 000 000, 00 (one million rand) per annum, are fighting tooth and nail to maintain this allowance. This management is prepared to risk and gamble with health & safety of all rate payers with the dismissal of 500 fire fighters having over 1000 years of combined experience, just to hold on the 2007 agreement and the 22.8% allowance on top of their huge salaries.

Issued by SAMWU Cape Metro

Mikel Kumalo
Regional Secretary
065 021 5329

Bridgette Nkomana
Deputy Regional Secretary
074 484 0316