City firefighters agree to four-year contract

Anew contract has been reached between the City and the union representing Lethbridge firefighters and emergency dispatch employees. The agreement with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 237 provides wage increases of 2.3 per cent, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2017, plus two per cent per year in 2018, 2019 and 2020 for a total of 209 Fire/EMS and Public Safety Communications Centre employees. IAFF members ratified the agreement on Sept. 18.

Included in the agreement is a commitment to implement of an Officer Academy Program for internal leadership development for senior staff.

The process took about two years and included around 18 meetings.

“We’re getting ahead of the game,” Mayor Chris Spearman said. “I commend the parties on both sides for being constructive during collective agreement negotiations. And coming up with an agreement that provides stability for four years.”

Also in the agreement is a reduction in the starting rate for Public Safety Communications Centre staff in their first year.

Spearman said while he wasn’t involved in the negotiations, there was some “give and take” in terms of qualifications.

“I think what happened was that some of the money was rearranged so that the people doing the training received more,” he said. “And those walking in off the street who don’t have the skill set would receive less.”

“This agreement is fair to our valued emergency responders and call takers as well as the Lethbridge residents they serve,” Spearman said in a recent news release. “It also provides cost certainty over a four-year period for a significant area of our municipal operating budget.”

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