Firefighters say they fear for their jobs

FIREFIGHTERS at the City of Joburg’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are living in fear of losing their jobs and are forced to work long hours to guarantee their pay cheques.

The threats emerged after the dismissal of 202 of their colleagues. The employees, who spoke to The Star anonymously, said they were working under pressure and following instructions from supervisors who told them it was the only way to save their jobs.

“We are short-staffed, the workload is heavy and we are struggling to deliver services on time. Residents get angry and complain and then the EMS management would threaten us with our jobs.

“The workload was heavy before the dismissals… now it’s just worse and we are not coping,” said one of the firefighters.

However, EMS management said they were continuing to deliver services effectively.

“We even have volunteers who are assisting us and want to reassure our residents of the City of Joburg that we will continue to render effective professional emergency services at all times.

“Most of our station managers, who normally manage the stations, are on standby if there is a need for us to back up to the current staff members who are on duty,” said EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi.

He added that employees were always welcome to lay complaints about any threats from their supervisors.

Early this year, more than 200 firefighters were suspended while others received warnings after EMS management and the City of Joburg accused them of engaging in an illegal strike. Some employees were, however, reinstated and were working with warnings.

Last week, 202 were dismissed after being found guilty of charges that included gross insubordination, dereliction of duty, acting in a manner which is in breach of their employment contract and acting in contempt of a Labour Court order. There is currently 1 146 employees remaining.

A firefighter said: “We cannot say no to any instruction given to us because, one mistake, we are out. If they send you somewhere, you just go with no questions asked…. The sad part is that the people who were dismissed are the ones who know the job. They were experienced to do both firefighting and paramedics.”