UNIONS PUT ASIDE TIME LIMITS ON NEGOTIATING FOR TIME BEING

The city and the union representing Montreal firefighters only started collective bargaining in mid-March, but they’ve technically already blown the negotiating deadline imposed on them by a new Quebec law.

Law 24 was passed by the National Assembly in November 2016 to govern the process of negotiating collective agreements in the municipal sector.

The legislation got the support of a number of mayors, such as thenMontreal mayor Denis Coderre, but was panned by the unions, which called it an unnecessary bludgeon.

Among other things, the law introduces time limits on negotiation before the province intervenes and imposes mediation and binding arbitration.

But the law doesn’t provide for exceptions to those time delays — such as a pause in negotiation because of an election and a transition at city hall.

“It’s completely impractical,” said Chris Ross, the newly elected president of the Association des pompiers de Montréal.

The legislation also changes the mediation and arbitration process and introduces conditions that have to weigh into in a contract settlement, such as a municipality’s fiscal situation.

Under Law 24, a municipality and a police or firefighter union have 90 days before the expiry of a collective agreement plus 150 days following the expiry — for a total of 240 days — to negotiate a new contract.

If there’s no settlement in that time, the province names a mediator, who gets 60 days — renewable once — to reach a deal. After that, a provincially appointed dispute settlement board may be called in.

In the case of a union other than the police or firefighters, the law sets a 150-day limit on negotiations, with the possibility of a 30-day extension.

The collective agreement of Montreal’s 2,371 firefighters expired on Dec. 31, 2017, which means the two sides had until the end of May to negotiate a contract.

However, the city was in the throes of an election campaign when the negotiating period opened in October. After that, the newly elected administration of Mayor Valérie Plante was transitioning into office.

The employer side asked for the first bargaining session to be in midMarch, Ross said.

“The city of Montreal, for reasons that are totally logical and understandable, wasn’t prepared to sit down and negotiate until they completed that transition,” he said. “Well, if you applied strictly the law and the 240 days, we wouldn’t have had any time to negotiate at all.”

The city and the union say they intend to negotiate despite the law.

“The discussions are continuing,” city spokesperson Gabrielle Fontaine-Giroux said in an email. “The parties wish to arrive at an agreement negotiated between themselves.”

A spokesperson for the Municipal Affairs Department said the provisions of Law 24 aren’t optional. However, the department didn’t respond when asked if the government plans to enforce the law.