202 Joburg firefighters dismissed after illegal strike

The dismissal is due to an illegal strike by union Demawusa earlier this year, according to a report by eNCA.

The dismissal was confirmed to News24 by Demawusa spokesperson Dion Makhura. However, the union has received no official communication from the City, he said.

A strike in July followed accusations by firefighters that Emergency Services Management were not adhering to the National Health Act. Some of the firefighters were also reportedly forced to live in an unsafe building.

During the strike, firefighters refused to attend to emergency calls made to the Jabulani, Johannesburg Central, Ivory Park and Rosebank fire stations, citing that some of the allocated duties assigned to them as basic life support officers were in fact duties to be performed by the intermediate life support officers. The firefighters also requested around the clock escorts from the JMPD when responding to emergencies, News24 previously reported.

City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi confirmed that 202 employees were dismissed for a range of charges, including gross insubordination, dereliction of duties, acting in a manner that is in breach of their employment contact or job description, acting in a manner that is unlawful, and bringing the name of the City of Johannesburg into disrepute, following an illegal strike.

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