By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: Dec. 11, 2013
Squamish wants province to amend the collective bargaining act for fire and police services and make the wages fair for local government.
“Firefighters are making anywhere from $10-15,000 less in B.C. compared to Saskatchewan and Alberta.” Lauren West
In a recent resolution put forward to UBCM, the district said bargaining is heavily weighted in favor of International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).
The district’s UBCM resolution said the arbitrator’s decisions are escalating career fire fighter wages and benefits beyond what many local governments can afford.
Police officers and firefighters in B.C. are not allowed to strike as they are governed by the Fire and Police Services Collective Bargaining Act, which deems both as essential services.
The act requires that if the settlement is not possible, an arbitrator must be brought in.
The district—and many cities across Canada— say the arbitrator rarely considers the municipality’s ability to pay.
In 2009, the district went into arbitration based on ‘pattern bargaining,’ where a wage increase is settled on in a large centre and IAFF works to follow pattern and achieve the same increase.
The district was unsuccessful in this 2009 mediation, and was asked to pay the wages put forward by the IAFF, said district spokesperson, Christina Moore.
The district decided not to go to arbitration as it would have cost it as much as $60,000.
“We did not have any confidence that the arbitrator would recommend anything different than the mediator,” Moore said.
The vice-president of the International Association of Firefighters, Lauren West, said it’s grossly unfair to suggest that firefighters are making more than what they should.
“Firefighters are making anywhere from $10-15,000 less in B.C. compared to Saskatchewan and Alberta,” West said.
He said the most recent arbitration in Vancouver resulted in one of the lowest wage increase of 2.5 per cent, compared to other parts of Canada.
West said firefighters in Squamish make on average $37 an hour, making less than what other trades make.
“On average, a municipality spends about 10 per cent of its budget on fire, in Squamish it’s about 2 to 3 per cent,” he said.
In 2005, Vernon brought forward a resolution asking the province to ask arbitrators to not impose pay parity on bargaining taking place outside of Vancouver.
In July, the B.C. Mayor’s Caucus also called on the provincial government to change the way negotiating is done with the two groups.
Volunteer firefighter and SLRD director Maurice Freitag said the district should look to Britannia Beach fire department for tips on running an effective, yet sustainable fire department.
He said while Squamish fire department volunteers may leave to find full-time positions elsewhere, Britannia Beach fire department discourages that activity.
“Squamish has the farm team system where volunteers get trained, get their certification, and find jobs elsewhere,” he said.
At the Britannia fire department, volunteers have been working for as long as 10 or 15 years, he added.
Protective services, which include police, fire service and emergency management, accounts for 27.9 per cent of the operating budget.
Dave says
Both these service agencies are truly essential and their members often put their lives on the line. We need them and they should be paid fairly. Arbitration should be honoured especially since the right to strike does not exist. The DOS should try not to waste money on other ventures which are deemed debatable by a large number of our citizens, Allowing development which overly stretches our infrastructure, overly “prettying-up” downtown to supposedly attract more customers (when any shortfall in this is really due to poor individual business propriety management), fretting about roadside signs, etc. etc. doesn’t help. Let us stop hiring expensive consultants and then ignoring much of what they recommend, merely moving on to hire new ones. Attention to points, such as these, can only help pay for the above essential services.
As well, all too often local Governments need to make sure “their own hair is trimmed” before they start on others…in this regard, I speak of expensive severance packages and other bonuses which are given to undeserving employees which have been “let go”. Whether this true in Squamish, is for its citizens to judge with the evidence before them.
None of this is “Rocket Science”!
Richard Tripp says
First of all I think it is important for residents of Squamish to realize that they have an exceptional fire rescue service and that they receive extremely good value for investment. This is not because the DOS pays large amounts of money for the service but rather because of the efforts, commitment and professionalism of its volunteer component, coupled with the support of a small contingent of career firefighters. It is also important for people to know that the few paid positions have been filled from the ranks of volunteer membership in a very competitive process. Sadly the DOS appears to have lost sight of how well they are served in this regard. Perhaps this is due to complacency having been brought on by this long standing arrangement. Dave is spot on with his suggestion that the DOS has many other areas of expenditure in which to seek cost savings.
As to Moe’s comments I can only assume that he has been quoted out of context and I’m not sure what relevance they have to the issues of career fire fighter wages. Squamish Fire Rescue also has within its ranks many volunteers who have contributed 10 – 15 years of service, along with those who have contributed far more. SFR as a farm team? While the SFR clearly attempts to select candidates who will remain local rather than seek a career position with a city department once trained, it is a volunteer role and as such there isn’t much that can be done to demand otherwise. Also worthy of consideration on this point is the fact that Squamish and Brittania’s needs are hardly comparable in terms of numbers. Squamish is no different than other communities in this regard except that perhaps the training program recruits go through is of such good quality that Vancouver, and other, departments know they are getting great candidates. This training is only possible with the assistance provided by the career members – an excellent demonstration of extraordinary value to the community provided by the wages paid. Comparable wages in large cities do not return that value and this article fails to convey that reality. Perhaps the DOS has failed to recognize and appreciate that as well.
As a previous volunteer member of SFR who has first hand knowledge of the “above and beyond” contributions made by your career fire fighters, not to mention volunteers, I can assure you that extraordinary value is being returned on those dollars. The DOS would do well to look elsewhere for savings!
Living and working in Fort McMurray I have had opportunities to discuss and compare my SFR experience with Chiefs, Officers and members of other departments from across Canada. Most small towns don’t enjoy the benefits of such a well trained composite force. The DOS should instead be asking what can we do to ensure the continued success of SFR’s organization.
Wolfgang W says
The first responsibility of government is to protect its citizens from the most basic threats: Lawlessness, aggression from outside, hazards to life and property such as fire and flood. All attended to within a broadly supported framework of the rule of law. Need more be said on this?