City, firefighters reach deal

by Wayne Moore CASTANET - Jun 15, 2015 / 8:45 pm
Long-term labour peace between the City of Kelowna and its professional firefighters has been reached. City council and Local 953 of the International Association of Firefighters both ratified a new collective agreement Monday. The deal provides both long-term cost certainty and labour stability. “We are pleased with this long-term agreement that provides fair wage and benefit improvements for our members,” said IAFF Local 953 President Dennis Miller. The seven-year agreement covers the period from Jan. 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2019. The contract follows recent agreements throughout the province with 2.5 per cent annual increases over the life of the agreement for fire prevention, training and suppression staff and 1.25 per cent per year increases for new dispatch and administrative staff. “This agreement provides for improvements for our employees who have been without an agreement since 2012 and we were also able to agree on some new contract language that will help the City significantly reduce costs for overtime and dispatch services,” said the City of Kelowna’s lead negotiator, Stu Leatherdale.