Advertisement.
As wildfire evacuees from Fort Providence began returning home on Thursday, the union representing 32 firefighters in the community and in Hay River said those workers earn lower wages than their GNWT counterparts.
In a Thursday morning news release, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and Union of Northern Workers said firefighters employed by Evergreen Forestry have been working without a collective bargaining agreement for the past two fire seasons.
In a statement to Cabin Radio, Evergreen Forestry said the company and the union could not come to an agreement.
“We have now both agreed to resolve the dispute by arbitration,” said the company’s manager, Robert Lafleur, in an email. “This means that we will continue operating as usual, and the issues that we do not agree upon will be decided by a neutral third party.”
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
Evergreen Forestry is described by the Kátł’odeeche First Nation as a KFN business. It has partnered with the Deh Gáh Got’ı̨ę First Nation to expand its crew and reach, as documented by APTN last year.
Aaron Manton, a spokesperson for PSAC North, said the Evergreen workers achieved parity with firefighters employed by the GNWT in their previous collective agreement, which was in place from January 2019 to December 2023. The union alleges the employer is putting forward a wage freeze this time around, which it characterizes as being “denied the same wages for the same work” as GNWT fire crews.
Manton said employees only officially work for Evergreen during the wildfire season, which runs from May 1 to September 30 every year. Four crews each work out of Fort Providence and Hay River, Manton said.
The union is calling for Evergreen to resume negotiations.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“While mediation efforts failed to close the gap between parties, the employer finally agreed in August – under pressure during hearings before the Canada Industrial Relations Board – to send the dispute to binding arbitration,” Thursday’s news release stated.
“Still, with no dates set, arbitration is unlikely to begin until 2026, two years after the union served notice to bargain.”
“Our members are fighting to keep communities from burning to the ground, under the same dangerous conditions as GNWT wildland firefighters,” PSAC North regional executive vice-president Josée-Anne Spirito was quoted as saying.
