The Salvation Army denies it has “fired” two volunteers for speaking out about the future of the Dunedin foodbank and the treatment of the organisation’s staff. Former Dunedin Salvation Army volunteers Reg Ozanne and Tracey McCabe said they were “fired” by Salvation Army manager David McKenzie yesterday. The pair spoke about their concern for the future of the organisation’s foodbank after a staff restructure left seven people without jobs. Ms McCabe said she called the organisation to ask if she had been “fired” after Mr Ozanne told her he had been sacked when he went to the Salvation Army to complete his regular volunteer shift yesterday. Ms McCabe said she asked Mr McKenzie “have I been fired” and he replied “yes, you have been fired”. The volunteer of four years said she was told she had been sacked because she breached her contract by speaking to the media. After being told this, she claims the manager hung up on her. Mr Ozanne did not want to discuss his dismissal. However, he confirmed he was also told he was “fired” because of speaking to the media. Neither Ms McCabe nor Mr Ozanne could recall having signed contracts. Salvation Army southern division community ministry secretary Captain Lindsay Andrews said neither Ms McCabe nor Mr Ozanne had been fired. “They are volunteers. They cannot be fired.” Mr Ozanne had been “advised to take a temporary break” by the Dunedin manager, and the organisation had not asked Ms McCabe to change anything. “We have no intention to stop Tracey volunteering.”
