The Alberta Labour Relations Board has reached the decision that Rocky View County (RVC) had been bargaining in bad faith regarding the June layoffs of 11 full-time firefighters.
But even though the board sided with the allegation that the county bargained in bad faith (known as Section 60), firefighters have not been reinstated. Instead, it’s back to negotiations for the county and the RVC Firefighters Association — designated Local 4794 by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).
According to the decision published by the board Oct. 25, the county’s breach was not in laying off the firefighters, but in administration’s untimely disclosure of the decision to layoff during the bargaining process.
“We have no difficulty finding, on either (party’s) approach to the facts, a breach of Section 60 based on the county’s failure to disclose the layoffs earlier and in greater detail,” stated the document.
“The overarching issue is clear — the county broke a labour law,” said Lorne West, vice president, District 6, with the IAFF. “The question is now: where does it go from here?”
The association submitted remedies that included an order for RVC to rescind the layoffs along with other losses caused by the layoffs, and an order stopping the county from “laying off full-time firefighters during the currency of the collective agreement and until a renewal collective agreement has been entered into.”
The board turned down the union’s request to reinstate the firefighters, along with the request that the county be prohibited from laying off more firefighters. A statement released by the county said there are “no plans to layoff additional firefighters at this time.”
The issue of remedy will be discussed between the two parties at a future resolution meeting and, if needed, an additional hearing.
“We urge these parties to work at improving their relationship as they head back into bargaining in the coming months,” stated vice-chair Nancy Schlesinger on the award. “A resolution conference on the remedial issues here may be a good place to start bettering that relationship. Better communication in this case might have prevented this complaint altogether, or at least resolved it without the need for a costly hearing.”
West said he’s confident the two parties can come up with a solution that would suit the residents of RVC, the union and county administration.
“Although we have been down this road with the county before, I am hopeful that sooner or later (the county) will want to see a restart,” said West.
The board hearing took place Sept. 9 and 10 in Calgary. At that time, the association also brought forth another alleged breach of the Labour Relations Code, but the complaint was withdrawn during the hearing.
The decision to layoff 11 full-time firefighters — and elimination of the 12 full-time positions — was officially disclosed to Local 4794 on June 13. However, evidence supplied to the board proved county administrators came to the de facto decision to layoff the full-time firefighters either May 7 or May 27.
The first disclosure of layoffs was made in a June 5th letter, when the only details revealed about the fire services’ restructure were: “The re-organization will result in job losses.”
“Rocky View County had been operating on the belief that the communication needed to occur only when a decision was imminent, not just under consideration,” explained Grant Kaiser, the county’s communications manager.
Kaiser did not respond to the Eagle’s questions regarding the breach of the labour relations code or the upcoming remedial hearing.
As of press time, no date had been set for either the resolution meeting or the hearing.
