By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
The Town of Brome Lake and its fire department have signed a collective agreement, town officials announced Aug. 29.
The agreement, which covers the period from 2023 to 2027, is the first such agreement between the town and the union representing its 28 on-call firefighters. It sets out a gradual 15 per cent salary increase over the next five years, including a retroactive 7 per cent increase for 2023. Councillors approved it in early August.
Firefighter and union representative Thomas Bogan said negotiations with the city went exceptionally smoothly. “We couldn’t be happier with how it went – they were very respectful and very polite. We just wanted to make sure everything was covered.”
Bogan said a falling-out between rank-and-file firefighters and a previous fire chief led to friction between the department and the municipality, and led the firefighters to consider unionization. The Quebec labour tribunal approved their application in early 2022.
Bogan, who has been a part-time firefighter in Brome Lake for 15 years, said the department currently has a good working relationship with the town and with its own leadership. “We feel that we have a voice again, and we’re happy to have the feeling that someone has our back. Everyone is going to be comfortable knowing that if things were to go sideways again, we could use the union to talk with the town as the voice of our members.”
He said he didn’t want to go into detail about the falling-out which led to the unionization drive. “What happened happened and I don’t want to open up the past. The town has worked hard with us to make sure everyone is happy and comfortable, and I believe they’re doing their part. I feel we [the firefighters] are in a much better place.”
Like Bogan, Town of Brome Lake director general characterized the negotiations as respectful and the agreement itself as a step forward. “Whenever there’s a collective agreement, it’s there to protect the workers, but it’s also in [the town’s] interest to have a plan that says, ‘Here are the parameters we’re working within, and if we want to go outside those parameters, we need to discuss it first.’ It removes some flexibility, but it defines what everyone’s sandbox is and [makes guarantees] for the employees’ job security.”
Arel added that the town wanted to set clearer salary guidelines and keep local firefighters’ salaries competitive for recruitment and retention purposes. “Even though we don’t have labour issues to the same degree as other towns … we don’t want to nickel-and-dime our employees. We want to make sure they’re paid a salary comparable to others in the region.”
“I would like to underline the professional and respectful atmosphere that constantly prevailed in
the exchanges between the parties,” Brome Lake Mayor Richard Burcombe said in a statement. “The citizens of Brome Lake can count on a highly dedicated team, and we are proud to improve and modernize working conditions, in recognition of the great commitment of our firefighters.”
The Brome Lake Fire and Public Safety Service provides firefighting and public safety services as needed in Brome Lake, in West Bolton and in surrounding communities when needed.