CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF ELLIOT LAKE (the "City") ELLIOT LAKE PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION (the "Association")

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1 IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION BETWEEN: CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF ELLIOT LAKE (the "City") AND: ELLIOT LAKE PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION (the "Association") IN THE MATTER OF: RENEWAL COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT BOARD OF ARBITRATION: Kevin M. Burkett Michael Riddell Jeffrey Sack - Chair - Employer Nominee - Association Nominee APPEARANCES FOR CITY: Thomas Agnew Jeff Renaud Paul Officer Andrea Leddy - Counsel - Chief Administrative Officer - Fire Chief - Manager of Human Resources APPEARANCES FOR ASSOCIATION: Rob Greve Darren Connors John Green Dave George Peter Osterberg - Advocate - President - Secretary - Treasurer - OPFFA District 6 VP

2 We have been appointed under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act to adjudicate upon the issues that remain in dispute between the parties in respect of the negotiation of a renewal collective agreement to the collective agreement between them that expired December 31, There is no dispute with respect to our authority in this regard. The City of Elliot Lake has a population of approximately 11,340 (a decrease of 1.7% since 2006) with a land mass of square kilometres. The Elliot Lake Fire and Emergency Management Service is a composite fire department, with eight fire fighters in the bargaining unit. The parties exchanged initial proposals in April 2014 followed by four days of negotiation ending on July 11, Conciliation took place on October 21, Although some matters were resolved between the parties, the following issues, in addition to term, remain in dispute and have been referred to this Board for disposition. Association Issues 1. Wage Increase 2. Overtime Bank 3. Life Insurance 4. Vision 1

3 5. Dental 6. Long-term Disability 7. Gym Membership 8. Bereavement 9. Union Leave 10. Uniform Allowance Employer Issues 1. Eliminating Overtime Banking 2. WSIB Language 3. Notice re: Vacation Scheduling 4. Notice re: Sick Leave By-law 5. Notice re: Vacation Banking 6. Long-term Disability Monthly Maximum 7. New article to provide annual membership fee at municipal pool and fitness centre for all members 8. Wage Increases The City takes the position that the above "notices" that it is serving on the Association are within its management rights and, therefore, are not within our jurisdiction. The purpose of these notices is to put the Association on notice as to the 2

4 interpretation of the relevant language that the City intends to adopt going forward and, thereby, to prevent the Association from raising an estoppel argument during the term of the agreement. While the City is free to serve these notices and while they would defeat an Association estoppel argument during the term should the language remain unchanged, the Association is equally free to respond by way of a bargaining demand to amend the language to reflect its understanding of the practice as it has existed. It would be clearly within the jurisdiction of an interest board of arbitration to entertain any such Association response. In considering the issues in dispute, we have applied the statutory criteria set out at Section 50(2) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act having regard to the circumstances. We are also mindful of the conclusion reached by arbitrator Swan in his 2008 to 2010 Elliot Lake award, relevant here, that "the relationship between the parties in Elliot Lake and the historical comparators has been considerably eroded" and further that "the relationship must be improved but it cannot be corrected immediately." The Association seeks dollar parity with West Nipissing in each year of the West Nipissing three-year settlement (2014, 2015, 2016) for a 2016 end rate of $91,134/yr. and an agreement to implement police parity effective January 1, 2017 (after the expiry of this collective agreement). The City has offered 5.5% over the same three-year period (back end loaded) for a 2016 end rate of $88,102/yr. Both sides have relied upon what they argue are relevant comparators, some of which are 3

5 common and some of which are not. The common comparators are West Nipissing, Kenora, Smith Falls, Kapuskasing and Kirkland Lake. In addition, the Association relies on Deep River, Pembroke, Renfrew and Hawkesbury as fire services of the same relative size and population base as Elliot Lake. The City cites North Bay and Timmins, that it acknowledges are much larger, but also relies on Fort Frances as a comparable small northern fire service. Exclusive of North Bay and Timmins, 11 comparators are cited. With the exception of Pembroke with a fire service of 15 fire fighters, all the others have fire services ranging from six to 12 fire fighters. Elliot Lake has eight full-time fire fighters. While eight of these comparators, including Pembroke, are settled for 2014 and five are settled for 2015, only three are settled for While we are in a position to maintain the relative position of the Elliot Lake fire fighters for 2014 and 2015, we can only anticipate for However, rather than force these parties back to the bargaining table immediately, with the attendant cost and uncertainty, we have decided that the better course would be to make a "best guess" for 2016 and award a three-year-term. Having considered the historical position of Elliot Lake fire fighters relative to the comparators and the comparator landscape as it existed for 2014 and 2015, we will award increases to the rate for a first class fire fighter of $950 on January 1 and July 1 of each year, bringing the 2014 end rate to $85,807/yr., the 2015 end rate to $87,707/yr. and the 2016 end rate to $89,607/yr. 4

6 There is a discrepancy in the submissions with regard to vacation scheduling (article 10.02) as to whether there are two or four platoons/shifts and the number of fire fighters per platoon/shift. We require clarity in this regard, especially as to whether or not the existing vacation scheduling arrangement leaves open the possibility of only one fire fighter on shift during the peak vacation period. Accordingly, we are remitting this matter back to the parties for immediate discussion and, failing agreement, written submissions within 30 days of the date hereof. Having regard to all of the foregoing, we hereby award as follows. A W A R D The parties are hereby directed to enter into a renewal collective agreement to the collective agreement between them that expired December 31, 2013 that contains all the terms and conditions contained in the predecessor collective agreement save and except that it is amended to incorporate: 1. A term of January 1, 2014 to December 31,

7 2. All matters agreed between the parties prior to the date hereof. 3. Salary increases to the first class fire fighter classification as follows: Effective January 1, 2014 $84,857 Effective July 1, 2014 $85,807 Effective January 1, 2015 $86,757 Effective July 1, 2015 $87,707 Effective January 1, 2016 $88,657 Effective July 1, 2016 $89,607 Other classifications are to be increased by the same percentages on the same effective dates. 4. Amend article to increase vision care from $300 maximum every 24 months to $350 maximum every 24 months, effective as soon as reasonably practicable from the date hereof. 5. Amend article to provide for a major restorative benefit of $1,500 per annum on a 50/50 cost sharing basis, effective as soon as reasonably practicable from the date hereof. 6

8 6. Amend article as follows: (i) The issue with regard to the maximum number of fire fighters who can be on vacation is remitted back to the parties for discussion, with written submissions within 30 days should there be no agreement. (ii) Vacation entitlements earned but not taken in any calendar year shall be carried over to the following year. In the event a member ceases to be an employee, all vacation entitlement earned but not taken shall be paid out to the employee. 7. Amend article to provide for nine-month dental recall for adults and sixmonth dental recall for dependent children under the age of 18, effective as soon as reasonably practicable from the date hereof. 8. Amend article to provide a maximum LTD benefit of $6,000/mo., effective as soon as reasonably practicable from the date hereof. 7

9 9. Incorporate a new article under which the City will provide, to each member who requests, an annual membership to the Ruben Yli-Juuti municipal pool and fitness centre, effective from the date hereof. 10. Amend article to provide bereavement leave of four working days, effective from the date hereof. 11. Amend article to provide for 14 working days per year for Association leave to be used for Association business, effective from the date hereof. 12. Amend article to provide that an incapacitated member shall be paid the difference between WSIB payments and regular net salary effective from the date hereof. 13. Incorporate a new clause specifying that during the term of the collective agreement, the members of the bargaining unit will be subject to the current welfare by-law that shall not be unilaterally amended except to the extent of specifying that "a member will be paid from the first day of absence for the first four incidents, whether related or not, and from the third day of absence for the fifth and subsequent incident(s)." 8

10 14. Wage retroactivity is to be paid on the basis of all paid hours from the expiry of the predecessor collective agreement. Payment is to be made within 60 days of the date hereof. Any fire fighter who has left the employ of the City is to be notified in writing of his/her entitlement to retroactivity at his/her address on file within 30 days of the date hereof and payment is to be made within 30 days of acknowledgement of receipt of notice. Issues not referred to are not awarded such that the status quo is maintained. agreement. We remain seized until such time as the parties enter into a formal collective Dated this 11th day of February 2016 in the City of Toronto. Kevin Burkett KEVIN BURKETT JEFFREY SACK PARTIAL DISSENT JEFFREY SACK (ASSOCIATION NOMINEE) 9

11 Michael Riddell Partial dissent MICHAEL RIDDELL (CITY NOMINEE) Partial Dissent Of The City s Nominee I have reviewed the Award of the Chair, and I dissent on the overall monetary increases contained in this Award, and particularly the salary increases that result in a 6.8% increase in salary over the three-year term of the Award. The City presented extensive economic data which confirm that Elliot Lake ranks as one of the worst out of all municipalities in Ontario based on many economic indicators such as median family income, labour force participation rates and the unemployment rate. Such data justified the awarding of lesser salary increases than contained in this Award. Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 9 th day of February, 2016 Michael Riddell Employer Nominee 10

12 Partial Dissent of the Association Nominee In this case, the Chair of the Arbitration Board has reduced the gap between the wages of Elliot Lake firefighters and those of their counterparts in comparator municipalities, including West Nipissing. In my view, the gap should have been narrowed sooner and by a larger amount, but the Award sets the parties in the right direction, and hopefully they will continue to narrow this gap in subsequent contracts. Obviously, I am in disagreement with the Employer Nominee who believes that lesser salary increases than those contained in the Award should have been ordered even though this would widen the gap. He attempts to justify this outcome on the basis that economic indicators presented by the Employer such as median family income, labour force participation rates and the unemployment rate in Elliot Lake are lower than other municipalities in Ontario. However, such data miss the point. Elliot Lake is a town that has a disproportionate number of retired citizens relative to other municipalities in Ontario. This is borne out by the data presented by the City itself which indicate that Elliot Lake is at or near the top of the list of municipalities with respect to the number of older residents. It is this older demographic which accounts for a somewhat lower median family income, a somewhat greater unemployment rate, and a somewhat lower labour force participation rate. However, while retired citizens on average will not earn the same income as younger residents, their wealth in assets will likely significantly exceed those of the younger generation. Such data must be taken into account if a fair assessment is to be made of the relative affordability of fire services. Jeffrey Sack, Q.C. 11