Retroactive pay pushes more Cornwall firefighters onto the Sunshine List

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The annual release of Cornwall’s list of employees under Ontario’s Public Sector Wage Disclosure Act showed the impact of the city reaching a contract with the Cornwall Professional Firefighters Association (CPFFA) Local 849.

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Cornwall quietly posted the contract along with others in response to questions about regulations passed by council in January authorizing a contract with the Canadian Union of Public Employees. The cumulative impact did not become public until the 2023 lists were released by the province in late March.

The three-year deal covering 2020-2022 included a 2.4 percent annual salary increase and various other changes and marks the first time a full agreement has been negotiated where neither side has sought arbitration to reach to an understanding. Come September, the firefighters would have received a retroactive payment recognizing negotiated salary increases awarded in the contract for 2020, 2021 and 2022.

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A probationary firefighter now earns $72,293 a year, rising to $81,861 after reaching fourth-grade firefighter. A first class firefighter now earns $106,313, which increases to $115,881 for those first class firefighters who are 23 years of age or older. Salaries for captains range from $124,386 to $133,954, platoon leaders from $131,828 to $141,396.

An analysis of firefighters on the so-called Sunshine List for Cornwall shows that retroactive lump-sum payments and pay rises have pushed more of the service’s staff into six-figure territory.

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There were nine additional members on the list for 2023 due to payments, for a total of 55. The Cornwall Fire Services complement is 56 firefighters, three fire prevention officers, one training officer, two deputy chiefs and the chief.

For those who remained captains in 2022-2023, they received an average of $29,755.73 in back pay, with the same figure for firefighters at $28,652.48. A captain would have already been on the city’s Sunshine List because of the starting salary for that position.

The agreement was signed Sept. 29 after the board directed staff members to do so during a closed-door meeting Aug. 14. In the past, the board usually approves a regulation authorizing the contract, which usually comes up for approval within weeks of signing. The statute for this collective agreement must be approved only before the board on July 9.

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A statement from Cornwall Communications sent last week indicates that bylaws approved by the board at each meeting authorizing and directing staff to implement board decisions — including instructions provided behind closed doors — would have been sufficient to implement the agreement and authorize retroactive payments necessary.

From April until last week, the above information was received from the Town of Cornwall, requiring several requests to Fire Chief Matthew Stephenson and several follow-up emails with the firm the town contracted to handle communications .

A human resources update on the June 25 board agenda notes that negotiation for the next contract with CPFFA has not yet begun; the one settled last summer expired on December 31, 2022.

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