The Yorkton Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 1527 has a new six-year contract.
“After 15 bargaining sessions, negotiations with the Yorkton Professional Fire Fighters Association came to completion on August 15, 2018,” Gord Kennedy, Director of Human Resources with the City, told the regular meeting of Yorkton Council on Sept. 17.
Council was presented with updates throughout the process and provided direction to the negotiating team after each session, said Kennedy.
With the aid of a conciliator, the parties were successful in bargaining a new Collective Agreement.
The new contract signed with the City of Yorkton will cover Jan. 1. 2016 through to Aug. 1, 2021 and see wages rise 15.27 per cent, including a four per cent hike dated back to Jan. 1, 2017, and another three per cent kicking in Oct. 31 of this year.
The average annual wage increase for the length of the contract is 2.54 per cent.
“This agreement also includes the addition of the new Saskatchewan Employment Act, streamlining of health and dental benefits programs, improvements to scheduling for planned absences, training and overtime provisions,” said Kennedy.
“The agreement allows the City flexibility to improve the current scheduling model, while maintaining a full time professional fire service.”
Neal Matechuk, lead negotiator for the fire fights said it was good to get a deal dome.
“We’ve been in negotiations since 2016, that’s when the first letters went out,” he said.
What followed were a long series of meetings, the two city finally aided by conciliator to get a deal done, said Matechuk, who added in his time on the force this is only the second contract out of six not to go to arbitration.
Matechuk said the last issue on the table was wages, but the new deal offers a bit over the inflation rate, and more importantly draws them more in line with comparable fire fighters in Swift Current and North Battleford.
Yorkton Mayor said the deal was a good one for the City because it keeps a professional department doing a job that is required.
He added he has always been in favour of a full time force, and this continues that.
Councillor Ken Chyz said the process took time.
“It was a long drawn out battle,” he said.
Coun. Mitch Hippsley said as he looked at the fire fighters in chambers Monday “I’m proud of what we’ve got.”
