“Paying the same increases as Vancouver, which is the most expensive place to live in Canada, is not sustainable for our small community,” he said. “Communities with larger populations and growth rates do not feel the impact of these increases that smaller communities, like Penticton, do. The act does allow for local conditions to be considered; which we feel weren’t factored in the final decision, so that is disappointing.” – Mayor Andrew Jakubeit

He added that they understand that each year there are inflationary costs and most bargaining units include cost of living increases into their contracts; however when the costs are linked to the Vancouver market and not local conditions it makes for an unfair, unrealistic starting point in the negotiations and expectations of all their unionized staff.

A judge has rejected an appeal by the city of Penticton to overturn an arbitrator’s award to firefighters.

In the recent decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce said the award is justified on the evidence and within the range of possible, reasonable outcomes.

The city had petitioned for a judicial review of the July 2015 award, in which arbitrator David McPhillips awarded the wage increases sought by the Penticton Firefighters Association based on parity with the vast majority of firefighters in the province.

The association and the city commenced bargaining for the 2010-15 collective agreement in or about February 2014, but reached an impasse particularly with regard to wages.

In two previous agreements, the parties negotiated wage parity with firefighters employed in other cities within British Columbia and most notably in the Lower Mainland.

Source: files from Castanet