Ottawa Professional Firefighters Association Collective Agreement

The Ottawa Professional Firefighters Association (OPFFA) is a union that represents over 1,200 firefighters, paramedics, and other emergency responders in the city of Ottawa. As with any union, collective agreements play a crucial role in ensuring that its members receive fair wages, benefits, and working conditions.

Currently, the OPFFA is in negotiations with the City of Ottawa for a new collective agreement. The previous agreement expired in 2018, and negotiations have been ongoing since then. The main sticking points of the negotiations are wages, benefits, and working conditions.

Wages are a particularly contentious issue, as the City of Ottawa has proposed a wage freeze for the first two years of the new agreement. The OPFFA has countered with a demand for a 2% wage increase in each of the first two years, followed by a 2.5% increase in the third year. The union argues that its members deserve fair compensation for their work, especially considering the risks and stresses inherent in their jobs.

Benefits are another important issue for the OPFFA. The union is pushing for improvements to its members` health and dental benefits, as well as better coverage for vision care, paramedical services, and mental health services. The union argues that these benefits are crucial for ensuring its members` health and well-being, and that they should be fairly compensated for the risks they take on the job.

Working conditions are also a significant concern for the OPFFA. The union is pushing for improvements to its members` schedules and workload, as well as better support for members dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues. The union argues that firefighters and paramedics face unique and challenging working conditions, and that they should be provided with the support they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.

As negotiations continue, the OPFFA and the City of Ottawa will need to find common ground on these issues in order to reach a new collective agreement. Both sides will need to be willing to compromise in order to ensure that firefighters, paramedics, and other emergency responders in the city are fairly compensated for their important work. Only through a fair and mutually beneficial agreement can the OPFFA and the City of Ottawa ensure that its members are able to continue providing high-quality emergency services to the people of Ottawa.