City of Cape Town rejects firefighters' demand for 80% rise in allowance

The City of Cape Town has poured cold water on a demand by firefighters for an 80% increase in their allowance.

The SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) have lodged a labour dispute with the city after their demand for a 79.23% increase in the allowance went up in smoke. Tensions have been smouldering between the unions and the city which currently pays the firefighters a 22.8% allowance.

At a media briefing on Monday‚ councillor JP Smith‚ responsible for safety and security‚ said the firefighters’ demand would amount to an extra R134-million from the already strained city coffers.

Smith said the ailing rail system was also putting a strain on the city’s budget. He said the City of Cape Town would soon launch a rail unit to protect the rail network at a cost of R48-million and the fight against gang violence cost the city about R60-million.

“There has been attempt to depict the city as unsympathetic towards firefighters‚” said Smith. “There is no lack of sympathy. Our firefighters are the heroes of our city. The challenges for the fire department are vast. We have had very rapid and aggressive urbanisation. Over the last year‚ it has been aggravated by drought‚ which has left you with very fragile and dry wilderness terrain. We have had large national parks that skirt the city and we have to deal with very strong winds which create a highly flammable scenario.”

Smith urged firefighters to respect the bargaining process.

Samwu’s provincial secretary‚ Sidney Flusk‚ reportedly said the union had rejected the city’s offer for a 30% allowance increase and that its members would work less hours in protest. Flusk reportedly said that the firefighters were demanding to work a 40-hour week‚ that all additional hours be turned into overtime as well as a 12-hour shift instead of a 24-hour shift.

Richard Bosman‚ the city’s executive director of safety and security‚ said the firefighters worked 56-hour shifts weekly and up to 10 shifts a month. Bosman said the agreement had been in place for more than 20 years. He said the department was grappling with a high number of staff taking sick leave.

“The only union that has given its intention to withdraw from the agreement is Samwu and not Imatu‚” said Bosman. “Samwu has indicated that they will withdraw from it unequivocally from November 5. We have made it clear from the staff that you will not get your allowance from the end of the month. And I must say‚ this has been a fixed portion of the staff salary for a very long time. Staff budget around it‚ their lifestyle depends on it. This is going to have a huge impact...”