Jalisco firefighters who spent more than a month battling blazes in the Canadian province of Alberta have urged the state governor to upgrade their jobs from contract to permanent positions.
As well as fighting fires there, the “brigadistas” have taken training courses in Canada and feel they have gained invaluable experience that can be passed on to others back home.
They are, however, concerned about their job security. The brigadistas are currently employed as contract workers by the Jalisco Environment Secretariat (Semadet), on salaries of around 7,000 pesos a month.
The firefighters took advantage of a meeting with Governor Aristoteles Sandoval this week to express concerns that under their current terms of employment they could be out of work tomorrow without any compensation.
After thanking the firefighters for their efforts in Canada and representing Jalisco so well, Sandoval promised to review Semadet’s budget and the brigadistas’ labor situation.