New council must OK firefighters' contract
Whitehorse firefighters will likely see an extra 18-per-cent rise in their wages over four years after a special meeting of city council took place at noon Tuesday.
Whitehorse firefighters will likely see an extra 18-per-cent rise in their wages over four years after a special meeting of city council took place at noon Tuesday.
Council members voted unanimously to sign the latest collective agreement between the city and its firefighters.
They did so amid applause from about 20 members of the Local 2217 of the International Association of Fire Fighters sitting in the gallery of council chambers.
Currently, the annual wages for firefighters range from $59,295 for a rookie in his or her first six months to $70,869 for a first-class firefighter with four years of experience.
An 18-per-cent increase would bring those figures up to $69,968 for the rookie class and $83,525 for the first-class firefighter with at least four years' experience.
The vote was likely the last one for the outgoing council, with the election set for tomorrow.
"We're just very happy,” Barry Blisner, president of the local, told reporters after the meeting.
Reaching a contract without going through arbitration does a lot for the relationship between the union and the city, he added.
The city ended up going through arbitration to reach its current contract.
Both council and the union stressed that while 18 per cent may seem like a large increase, it will bring the firefighters closer to parity with their colleagues in the south.
"It's sort of been an uphill climb,” Blisner said of getting close to parity.
Prior to the vote, city manager Stan Westby said the new contract will cost the city $520,000 over the four years.
He also noted a big part of the negotiations was having Whitehorse firefighters reach parity with southern-based colleagues.
"The negotiated settlement is in-line with agreements in other jurisdictions and has been ratified by city council,” Westby said.
With the current contract having expired in 2009, that means the new four-year pact will end in December 2013.
And negotiations for the next contract may not be far away, though Westby noted no date has been set to start on those talks.
While council voted in favour of signing the agreement, it will be up to the next council to pass the bylaw for the deal.
Comments (4)
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Deanna on Oct 22, 2012 at 1:02 am
This is at June Jackson, I've been to many places in Canada and I know people that live in each and every province/territory. Where are these magical 69 cent loaves of bread and $28/month hydro bills? Cost of an apartment in TO or Vancouver is about the same as here and gas goes up and down every Thursday everywhere but here.
While I 100% agree with this raise and I agree that it should be higher, I am getting a bit tired of everyone complaining that the cost of living up here is so much higher than the rest of Canada.
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flyingfur on Oct 18, 2012 at 8:06 am
Shame on COW Management staff and their "labour relations experts" for letting this fester for over 3 years. The firefighters continue to do their jobs...why can't you do yours?
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John Smith on Oct 18, 2012 at 5:46 am
Expect the rest of the city employees to want a similar increase based on pay equity legislation. "Equal pay for work of equal value" and all that jazz.
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June Jackson on Oct 17, 2012 at 10:53 am
I get real tired of hearing..in the south we do this, in the south we do that..blah, blah, blah.. #$%^ the south.
Why should our fire fighters make the same wage as firefighters that pay 69 cents for a loaf of bread? 105. for gas? 28.00 a month for hydro?
They should be making a living wage based on northern prices and rates and scaled up the the price of living index. (Everyone in the Yukon should get that.)
I am glad our guys got the 18%..Next time go for 30%.
Personally..i think a job that involves saving a life should get the best top dollar that we can afford to give them..and give it gladly.