SABC News reports that according to Minister of Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, relations between Canada and South Africa will not be affected by the return of South African firefighters who were recalled after a wage dispute while assisting in fighting fires in Canada.  

She said the absence of mechanisms through which the South African firefighters could have raised their concerns led to them protesting in the manner they did.  While she expressed regret about the manner in which the firefighters returned home, she was still proud of the contribution they made in fighting the fires in Canada and the respect they gained.  The Minister has appealed to South Africans not to condemn them as there were lessons learned from the incident.  Molewa indicated that both countries would establish an over-arching Memorandum of Understanding to set parameters within which the two implementing agencies should work together in future.

• This report is at SABC News
• See too, Parliamentary committee 'concerned' about SA firefighters debacle, at News24
• And also, ‘Ontlonting’ vir brandweerlede beplan, at Netwerk24

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page