A recent decision by the province’s arbitrator means the city is on the hook to retro pay $170,000 for unused sick leaves.
Council learned of the financial impacts of the arbitration decision at Monday night’s meeting. The Saltman Interest arbitration award released in 2011 provided local firefighters with recognition pay of vested sick leave credits.
The city argued against the decision but the arbitrator move ahead with his decision.
The payout goes back to 2008 and includes 62 firefighters. Firefighters receive sick pay credits based on 1.5 days for each month that are used to receive full pay if they’re off work because they're sick. The sick days accumulate.
If the firefighter has 10 or more years of experience with the service, the firefighter receives a payout based on 50 per cent of unused sick pay credits or one-half of their year’s salary.
City’ manager Tim Commisso said they accept the decision but at the same time disagree with it and called it an unbudgeted cost.
He said the city will also have to cover retiring firefighters, which could cost about $3,000 per person.
“We value the services that all of the emergency personnel provide but the reality of it is that through the arbitration process our single largest cost driver for the most part isn’t in the control of council,” Commisso told council.
“That cost, which is at the very front of our budget because it is tied typically with wages, is something that we have to deal with We’re all looking at how we can deliver responsible budgets and tax increases because this is all tax supported. We really want to move forward in a conservative way.”
Commisso believes the other major driver in the budget is the city’s investment into infrastructure.
The arbitration process is something that not only the city is dealing with but many other municipalities across the province, he said.
He said the next step is working with the fire chief and administration in order to find ways to cover the cost.
McKellar Coun. Paul Pugh expressed his disappointment with the arbitration process. He said the province took unions’ right to strike away and implemented the arbitration process.
“Since we don’t like the decision of the arbitrator we’re going to impose conditions on arbitrators so they can allocate us into a decision we do like,” he said. “I find that totally objectionable. I oppose further attacks on workers regardless of what category they may be. I will not be supporting any efforts to curtain the rights of working people.”
At-Large Coun. Rebecca Johnson took issue with the retroactive pay percentages. A firefighter with eight years of experience would receive three per cent, six per cent for a firefighter with 17 years and nine per cent for a firefighter with 23 years.
“Three per cent is even high when I look at what’s going on in the private sector,” she said. “I see six per cent and that’s just totally unrealistic. I don’t like seeing those kinds of figures printed on this piece of paper. That’s scary. We can't go forward with these kinds of impacts to our budgets.”
Fire chief Jon Hay said those percentages are at the top of the regular wages.
