A South African company that brought a crew of 300 people to Alberta to help fight the Fort McMurray wildfire says it is sorry about an ongoing dispute over their pay.
Working on Fire Ltd. posted a message on its website Friday saying it is extremely disappointed the dispute wasn’t resolved internally before it escalated into an international incident.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has said the province contracted with the company to pay the firefighters roughly $170 per day.
But a member of the crew says they were being paid about $50 per day for fighting the fire in 12-hour shifts.
READ MORE: 300 South African firefighters to leave Fort McMurray early after wage dispute
Working on Fire says it never agreed to pay anyone that amount and the workers are leaving for home because of the dispute.
Notley has said her NDP government will ensure that every firefighter from South Africa is paid according to Alberta law, which stipulates a minimum wage of $11.20 per hour.
The company said it is treating the pay dispute with the utmost importance and is committed to finding an amicable solution.
“We are currently investigating the matter internally and wish to apologize to both the Canadian government and Canadian citizens for any inconvenience this may have caused,” Working on Fire said in a statement.
READ MORE: Some South Africans leave Fort McMurray fire fight, questions linger over pay
Working on Fire said it has successfully completed numerous international deployments.
The company said it pays its firefighters an agreed upon rate that is spelled out in signed contracts.
“To have a dispute about remuneration and to be accused of being unfair towards our people is in direct contradiction of our company values.”
On Friday, a spokesperson for Public Safety Canada provided Global News with a statement regarding its position on the matter. Here is the statement in full:
The Government of Canada continues to support the people of the Fort McMurray area in the wake of the devastating Alberta fires.
Canada is very thankful for the assistance local firefighters are receiving both from Canadian firefighters from outside Alberta and from international partners. That support has included 300 firefighters from South Africa, and the Government of Canada is grateful to South Africa for its assistance during this extreme forest fire season. The Government of Canada is aware of the concerns expressed by some of the South African firefighters over compensation. We hope that the concerns between the firefighters and their South African employers can be addressed, and we look forward to a positive resolution of this situation.
The Government of Alberta and the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre will continue to assess resources requirements and ensure that sufficient numbers of firefighters are in place and ready to respond where needed.
-With files from Phil Heidenreich.
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