By Shane O'Neill

City, fire department come to contract agreement

Aug 25, 2016 | 12:29 PM

Relief.

That was the word used to describe the feelings on both sides as the city and Prince Albert Fire Fighters (IAFF Local #510) agreed to a new six-year Collective Bargaining Agreement, announced Thursday.

The new contract expires December 31, 2018 and accounts for the three-and-a-half years firefighters in P.A. have worked without a contract.

Mayor Greg Dionne and firefighters’ association president Lloyd Zwack made the announcement on Thursday morning from the fire hall.

“Three-and-a-half years without a contract,” Zwack said, “It begins to be a morale issue and it’s certainly an improvement.”

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Zwack said in his 12 years with the association, the union has never negotiated an agreement set to last as long as the new contract.

A major hurdle in the negotiation process was the issue of vested sick leave. This is essentially the right for IAFF members to accumulate sick days over the course of an entire career, then “cash-out” on the banked days upon retirement. It’s believed the elimination of this practice will save the city more than $450,000.  

“Vested sick leave was important to the city of Prince Albert strictly because it was a $3-million liability,” Dionne explained. “We were one of the few left in the country that had it, and it was time we looked for savings.”

For the union, the issue was also a sticking point. Vested sick leave was a long-standing part of previous collective agreements, but Zwack said his members were prepared to negotiate.

“It is a trend that vested rights are becoming less and less a part of contracts,” Zwack said. “We realized that this was going to be an opportunity to extend the duration [of the agreement].”

Of the five labour groups employed by the city, only the Prince Albert Police Association still has vested sick leave as a part of its collective agreement. Mayor Dionne said Thursday, contract negotiations with the police force had begun and he hopes to eliminate vested sick leave by the end of the year.

As a result, the city and the union have agreed to appoint a third-party adjudicator to work with members who require short-term disability, a task formerly handled by Prince Albert’s HR department. This practice brings the Firefighters Association in line with the other labour groups.

As well, the new contract comes with a 3.4 per cent increase in salary for firefighters annually, a raise in line with other regions across the province.

The union has agreed to give up one of three years of retroactive payment sought in negotiations, totaling a savings of $210,000 for the city. This detail sealed the deal for the new contract.

shane.oneill@paNOW.com

On Twitter: @stroneill