An arbitrator has awarded wage increases, enhanced benefits, and clarified overtime rules for full-time firefighters in Caledon, Ont., settling a new three-year collective agreement between the town and the Caledon Professional Fire Fighters’ Association.
The arbitration, conducted under Ontario’s Fire Protection and Prevention Act, sets the agreement’s term from Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2025. The award covers 52 full-time firefighters across three stations, including captains, training captains, a platoon chief, and fire prevention officers.
Wages and comparators
The key dispute centred on wages. The arbitrator said the challenge was not only which comparators to use, but also the timing of settlements across the sector.
“Settlements reached earlier in the bargaining cycle tend to be lower,” the decision stated. “Those reached later in the bargaining cycle are more likely to account for high rates of inflation that peaked in 2022 but carried through into 2023.”
Firefighters will see their top wage rate rise from $108,716 as of Jan. 1, 2023 to $118,600 by July 1, 2025. Differential rates were also adjusted, with captains and training captains moving to 119 per cent of the firefighter rate, and platoon chiefs and the chief fire prevention officer moving to 130 per cent, effective Jan. 1, 2025.
Benefit improvements
The ruling also broadened benefits. Mental health coverage was increased to $5,000 annually for services provided by psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, social workers, or clinical counsellors. Vision coverage was raised to $550 every 24 months, and annual maximums for massage therapy, physiotherapy, and chiropractic services increased to $725.
Employees over 65 will now have a $3,000 annual health care spending account.
The arbitrator also awarded a line of duty death benefit that includes deaths from occupational disease “whether or not the death occurs during or following active employment, as determined by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.”
Overtime provisions clarified
The association had proposed changes to ensure firefighters called back to duty were paid at overtime rates. The town objected, saying this would prevent off-duty firefighters from responding as volunteers.
The arbitrator clarified the award’s intent: “To be clear, the proposal being awarded is intended to ensure that a professional firefighter who is specifically called back or requested to respond to a call or calls following the completion of their regular shift is paid at overtime. This provision is not intended to apply in circumstances where a firefighter chooses, at their own discretion, to respond to a general call sent out to the volunteer service for volunteers to respond.”
Probation reviews and vacation policy
The town also gained a new provision requiring probationary reviews to be completed by the crew captain together with the fire chief or designate. The arbitrator noted the town’s confirmation that “completion of the Probationary Review Evaluation Form by Crew Captains will not be considered a ‘managerial or confidential’ function.”
A proposal to change the vacation system — requiring new employees to take leave in the year it is earned — was left unresolved. The arbitrator remitted the issue for discussion in the next round of bargaining, stating, “it is unclear to me why it is problematic.”
