2458-99-M The Corporation of the City of Brantford, Applicant v. Brantford Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, Responding Party.
2684-99-M City of Hamilton, Applicant v. Hamilton Professional Fire Fighters Association, Responding Party.
BEFORE: Laura Trachuk, Vice-Chair.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; October 11, 2000
The parties have filed submissions and met with the Labour Relations Specialist pursuant to the Board’s decision of August 15, 2000.
The parties continue to have a dispute about how these matters should proceed. The applicants ask that the hearing with respect to Board File No. 2458-99-M proceed first and that the proceeding with respect to Board File No. 2684-99-M proceed subsequently. The responding party in Board File No. 2684-99-M opposes this proposal.
After considering the submissions of the parties the Board has decided to proceed with the hearing in Board File No. 2458-99-M first. The determinations the Board will be asked to make in these applications are new with respect to firefighters. There are other applications which have been, or will be, filed with respect to other fire departments. It would therefore be useful to have a decision of the Board which may guide the process with respect to other applications. The Board recognizes that some job duties will vary from one fire department to another but many will be the same. It appears that the application in Board File No. 2458-99-M can be completed faster than Board File No. 2684-99-M because there are fewer positions in dispute and because the parties have agreed to earlier hearing dates.
The Board has also decided that it wishes to hear the evidence and argument with respect to the position of “platoon chief” first. That will allow the Board to consider issuing an interim decision with respect to that position which may be helpful to this matter and the other applications. The parties are therefore directed to call their evidence with respect to the platoon chief first in Board File No. 2458-99-M.
The Board therefore directs that the hearing with respect to Board File No. 2684-99-M will not proceed until at least an interim decision with respect to Board File No. 2458-99-M has been issued. The parties in Board File No. 2684-99-M have agreed to the following hearing dates: February 28, March 1, 2, 28, 29 and April 4, 5, 11, 12, 19, 20, 2001 and the application will proceed on those dates providing that a decision in Board File No. 2458-99-M has been rendered. The applicant in Board File No. 2684-99-M asks that it commence on October 18 and 19, 2000, two dates which were adjourned by the parties in 2458-99-M. However, given the Board’s decision to proceed first with Board File No. 2458-99-M that request is denied. The Board notes that the next hearing date in Board File No. 2684-99-M is not until February 28, 2001, pursuant to the parties’ agreement, so commencing the hearing on October 18 would have little impact on the completion of that matter.
The hearing with respect to Board File No. 2458-99-M will commence on October 17, 2000 and will continue on November 7, 8 and December 18, 2000 and February 6, 8, 9, 19 and 22, 2001 pursuant to the agreement of the parties. The Board is not available on February 13 and 14, 2001.
“Laura Trachuk”
for the Board