NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF GUELPH
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On Oct. 7, the City and the Guelph Professional Firefighters Association (GPFFA) head into interest arbitration; the next step after almost 20 months of both parties working unsuccessfully to reach a collective agreement.
Interest arbitration, in labour relations, is the process by which contract disagreements between management and labour are referred to an arbitrator or arbitration board.
In this case, an impartial arbitration board has been assembled made up of an adjudicator (arbitrator), a non-City management nominee and a non-GPFFA union nominee. The decision of the board will be final and binding on both parties. What many residents may not know is that this arbitration hearing is open to the public.
As part of this process, both the City and the union have prepared and exchanged briefs over the last couple of months, outlining what each side is looking to achieve and the reasons why.
At the arbitration hearing, both parties will present their case to the arbitration board on what should be reflected in the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Guelph and the Guelph Professional Firefighters’ Association.
Members of the public who are interested are encouraged to attend the hearing and observe the proceedings. The interest arbitration hearing is on Friday October 7, 2016, 10 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre, 601 Scottsdale Drive.
The City is committed to a collective agreement that is fair to our firefighters, whose work we value, but also fair to our other employees and reflects the collective agreements that they have ratified.
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